Sonic Hill 2: DX
by Sonic19902
Summary: Miles Prower receives a letter from his boyfriend, Sonic, telling him to come to the mysterious town of Sonic Hill. But Sonic’s been dead for three years. Miles goes to the town to find the truth, unknowing of the madness that awaits him. (COMPLETE)
1. Empty Emotions

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A/N (skip all this to the bottom of the italicized text if you don't care): _Whew, it's finally here. I've always thought this was one of my best fanfics, although at the time I believed that it was really complete crap. I posted this about a year or two ago, and though it was my best work at the time, it was really crappily written, and half of it was in script format. So it's no surprise it was reported and deleted over the summer. That actually turned out to be a good thing for me, since now I've had a reason to rewrite this. For the past two months straight I've been writing this—the most consecutively I've ever written—and I'm finally finished._

So sit back and let ME entertain YOU. Here it is, Sonic Hill 2, rewritten entirely and finally taken seriously from the bottom up for your pleasure. This will probably be my only authors note on it (which is why it's so long), so you won't have to hear by blabbering and can just enjoy the fic as a whole. Constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated. Hope you enjoy!

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Disclaimer: _While many of the events, actions, and dialogue in this fic are my own, the fic as a whole is based off of the awesome game Silent Hill 2 by Konami on the Playstation 2 and X-Box. This is basically my own novelization of the game with all my own crap added. All Sonic-related characters (which are all of them) are copyright of Sonic Team. This is a fanfic, obviously._

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Warning: _This fic contains extreme violence and gore, some sexual situations, suicidal thoughts, yaoi, and a whole crapload of stuff people generally feel uncomfortable with. If any of this bothers or offends you to the point where you can't read it, then…don't. Thank you._

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Sonic Hill 2 DX

Chapter 1: Empty Emotions

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**__**

In my restless dreams…

I see that town…

Sonic Hill…

You promised you'd take me there again someday…

But you never did…

Well, I'm alone there now…

In our special place…

Waiting for you…

Miles Prower stared into his own eyes, seeing only an empty void of azure blue. Empty. Empty like he had been for the past three years.

His furry body was a bright orange, which clashed with his grayed-white facial fur. Lack of sunlight was the cause of that, for he'd spent most of what he felt like the end of his life in the darkness of his apartment. It had been a long three years, and his world was now nothing but cold, empty grayness.

He put his hand to his face, wiping it across his fur. Every time he looked into the mirror like this he felt slightly surprised at that action. It was hard to believe he was the same fox he had been so long ago, after all. He tore his face away from the gritty cracked mirror, looking around the filthy restroom. A cold breeze blew through the opened door not too far away. His car was right outside, stagnant in the almost empty parking lot.

"Sonikku…" he said, walking outside. His depressed, slightly-high-for-his-age voice echoed throughout the restroom. "Could you really be in this town?"

It was cold, very cold. Strangely cold for early Fall, even in this part of America. Maybe it was just because he wasn't exactly dressed for a cold day - he wore his usual red and white shoes—now tattered and worn, like him—along with white socks and gloves. The rest of his body only relied on his natural coating for warmth. His two deformed fox tails dragged behind his thin slender legs, suspended eternally inches above the blacktop.

There were a total of three vehicles in the rather large parking lot: A white van, a Volkswagen, and his own Sedan. He'd usually expect there to be more this time of year, but it _was_ early morning, and the weather was bad today. The resplendent blue sky was blotted out by what seemed like one giant, thick, gray cloud. It was rather depressing. Not that the fox wasn't used to that kind of stuff.

He walked over to the edge of the overview. It was about a mile out of town, and to his dismay the tunnel leading right into the main road was blocked off by construction, so he'd have to walk the rest of the way. If he recalled, the stairs on the other end of the parking lot went down into the forest path, which eventually led right into town.

From where he was standing, he could see Lake Toluca in the distance. The large lake—three miles fully around—was in the center of the town, in the whole region. It branched off into a few other lakes too, but none big enough to be listed on the map. If the sun had been out, the view would be magnificent.

Miles looked down at the letter, reading it over for the hundredth time since he had gotten it. Ever since it had appeared in his mailbox, he'd been confused and disturbed. The fox opened his mouth and retold the whole story over to himself once again.

"I got a letter in the mail yesterday. 'Sonikku' was written on it…My late boyfriends name…At first I thought it might be a prank or something, but it can't be…It just doesn't make any sense to me though. The dead can't write letters. It's been so long…"

Miles shook his head, his voice almost beginning to break at just mentioning the tragedy in his past.

"But if he really is dead…why am I here?" he trailed off in puzzled thought, and then shook his head. "He must be here…it's his handwriting……but what does he mean by 'special place'? This whole town was kind of our special place. Unless maybe…maybe the park by the lake? We used to love hanging out there…"

He wasn't sure of anything, and the whole idea seemed insane, but it was the only place he could think of. Folding the letter neatly, he put the paper in his pocket, joining Sonic's photograph. His mental map of the town was very rough, since it had mostly eroded away as the years went on. But if he remembered correctly, Rosewater Park was a few miles west from here, not far into town.

"Sonic Hill…" he said. Just the name of the town seemed to creepily foreshadow Sonic being there. Miles pulled out the photograph, in which the blue-furred, green-eyed hedgehog was giving a warm smile towards the camera. It was a very good picture of his love, but it was becoming wrinkled and old from being carried around everywhere. Wrinkled and old, but still beautiful.

"Sonic…are you really here?" he wondered distantly. "Waiting for me…?"

He wasn't sure. But he sure as hell was planning to find out.

"I'm coming for you…"

Determined to find the answers, Miles Prower took one last glance at the rest stop and walked down the parking lot steps, into the depths of Cocoon Forest, and disappeared into the fog of Sonic Hill.


	2. Evil In the Depths of the Fog

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Sonic Hill 2

Chapter 2: Evil in the Depths of the Fog

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No one was there.

It was rather disturbing. So far he'd been jogging for three minutes, walking for ten, and he hadn't seen a single thing living or moving since he'd started his trek through the forest path. Sure, it was very long on foot. Most sane people would just drive in and out of town; the path was mostly meant for joggers, tourists, and idiots. Yet, he hadn't seen any at all. It was lonely, and extremely quiet. He hadn't heard a sound other than his own footsteps and light panting either, not even any less-evolved animals or trees moving. It was like the whole place was dead.

To top it all off, the weather had gotten even more ridiculous. There was just fog, everywhere. And not the usual fog he'd experienced in his life, but _thick _fog. Maybe even that wasn't the right way to describe it. He couldn't see anything around him till he was at least within ten feet of it, and the fog seemed to only be getting thicker as he moved forward. That on top of everything else was making him begin to feel very uncomfortable. And impatient, very impatient.

Just in time to save him from a large amount of frustration, he saw an old, black, rusty gate up ahead. He reached it, opened it, and stepped into the new area.

At first he thought it might be an open field of some sort, but as he walked farther into the fog, he saw a tombstone. The grave was quickly followed by another tombstone, and another. Judging from the condition of some of the memorials, it was an old and badly kept graveyard. Graveyards always creeped him out, and he knew he wasn't alone in feeling that. He'd seen plenty of horror video games and movies in his life, and he knew a classic scare would be the creatures of the night crawling out of their graves, craving for flesh. Just thinking of it made him feel uncomfortable

'_Oh shove it. Don't let it creep you out, Miles._' He thought to himself. '_Besides, it's not nighttime. And scary shit only happens at night._'

Then again, it might as well be nighttime. The fog was even thicker here. If something were in the area, he wouldn't see it till it was very close. But so far the graveyard seemed as empty as the forest had been, which was both a good and a bad thing. Good thing is that'd mean there's no one there. Bad thing is that…well, it still meant there was no one there.

'_Probably because of this weather. Besides, who the hell would hang out in a graveyard—especially this early—anyway?_'

The fox sweatdropped when as if on cue, he spotted someone not too far away. The figure scared him a little at first—he didn't expect it, after all—but upon closer look he noticed it was only a tall bat; female from the looks of the outfit. The batgirl was wearing a strange skintight black suit, which ended halfway up her back, along some boots and gloves with a mixture of white and pink in them. She was kneeling down, wings folded, staring at a rather new looking tombstone. She looked so ridiculously out of place in the foggy graveyard that it was kind of funny.

Stepping closer to her, Miles opened his mouth and spoke. "Excuse me, I—"

The girl let out a shriek and jumped, turning to him and backing away in fright. It scared Miles as much as it scared her, and he backed away a bit too. The look in the girl's aqua eyes was a look of terror, which quickly faded away into slight embarrassment. She was wearing some makeup on the lower half of her face—the top half was covered in white fur, opposite of his own. She had large mouse-like ears, and from this side of her he could see that she had very large and defined breasts, which seemed to be held into her dress pretty tightly by the heart-shaped top of her suit. To be honest, she looked rather pretty, for a girl.

"Oh…" the bat said, sounding worried. "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's okay." Miles said. The girl was obviously freaked out, and he tried to comfort her immediately. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to scare you."

She grasped her right arm with her left hand and looked down, as if ashamed of her fear. "I'm not usually that jumpy, really. I'm sorry. It's just this place is kind of creepy…"

"Yeah, I know." Miles smiled. She seemed rather nice, but he was on a mission. "Can you help me out here? I'm kind of lost."

The bat raised an eyebrow, as if shocked at his statement. "_Lost?_"

"Yeah." Miles looked around, seeing nothing but a few graves and then endless fog. He knew the town was close by, but not the direction. "I'm looking for Sonic Hill…"

The bat put her finger to her lip for a second as if the question required some deep thought. "Um…right…" she pointed right of their location. "It's hard to see through the thick fog, but there's only one road to it. You can't miss it."

Smiling once again, Miles turned towards where she pointed. "Thanks." He began to walk away.

"But…"

Miles turned back to her. She sounded like she desperately wanted to tell him what she did next. "Yeah?" he asked.

"I think you'd better stay away…"

"Why?"

"This, uh…this town…there's something _wrong _with it…"

"Is it dangerous?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah. And it's not just the fog either, it's…"

"I understand. I'll be careful."

"I'm not lying!" she looked at him, almost sounding angry.

Miles held out his hands. "I know. I believe you. It's just that I don't really care if it's dangerous or not. I'm going either way."

"I'm sorry for asking, but…why?"

"I'm looking for someone."

"Someone?"

The fox nodded. Telling someone else would probably make him feel better at least. "Someone very important to me. I'd do anything to be with him again."

He bit his lip, not intending to tell her it was his boyfriend, but accidentally implying it. To his surprise, she didn't seem to react to that at all.

"Me too. I'm here looking for my momma—I mean _mother_!" She corrected herself fast, illustrating a bit of embarrassment. "It's been so long since I've seen her…I thought my father and brother where here too. But I can't find them." Frowning, she looked away. "I'm sorry…it's not your problem…"

Miles raised an eyebrow. The young bat was acting very weird, and he wasn't sure what it was. She was being pretty dramatic, but it seemed sincere too. She seemed so…insecure with herself. He knew what that was like, and he felt a lot of sympathy for her suddenly, more sympathy than he'd normally give someone he met a minute ago.

"Well…" He wasn't sure what to say—he sucked at this sort of thing and he knew it—but she seemed to need some sort of reassurance. "I hope you find them."

"You too…" she said, looking back at the grave. The way she said it seemed to end the conversation. Neither of them knew what to say. Miles decided to leave before the silence got awkward. He walked away, following the direction she had pointed in earlier. She didn't say anything, so he figured the conversation really was over.

It took him a while after he left to realize he didn't even find out her name, and vice versa. '_Oh well._' He thought. '_I probably won't see her again anyway._' He hated when things like that happened.

After walking through the fog for a while, he was beginning to worry that the girl might have pointed the wrong way. But that worry disappeared when he saw another gate. He walked through it, and proceeded to move through the rest of the forest path.

---_Later…_---

He made it.

By the time he'd gotten into town he knew something really _was_ wrong with the place. As if the construction, the forest path, and the batgirl hadn't foreshadowed it enough.

Just like the other two areas, the place was empty.

So far, he'd only gone a few blocks, but the town proved to be just as empty, cold, and foggy as the forest. And this time he _knew _it wasn't supposed to be this way. He put his hands over his mouth like a horn and called out for the third time since he entered the place. "_Hello!?_"

No one responded.

He was beginning to think the whole town was abandoned or something. But there weren't any signs saying any such thing. He wasn't sure how an abandoned town worked, but he sure as hell knew it wasn't like this. There were cars littered in several parts of the road, all of which looked almost ancient, like they hadn't been used in years. They weren't really beaten or dented or anything, they just seemed to give off an aura saying they hadn't been used in a long time. The buildings gave off that same impression too. And it wasn't like any of them were damaged either.

'_Did the whole fucking town just pack up and leave too?_' he asked himself. '_Jesus, what's wrong with this place?_'

The fog had gotten a thousand times worse too.

Now it was more like he couldn't see more than five feet in front of him. In fact, he'd almost run into a few things quite a few times already, thanks to the weather. It scared him, almost as much as the town's emptiness did.

"_Hello!!?_" he knew it was useless, but he tried again anyway.

Sighing, Miles continued forward still. Empty town or not, Sonic's letter told him to come here. And he did. He wasn't going to turn back and leave now, not until he at least reached the park and figured out what's going on. He didn't know what to do, if Sonic was there or not, but—

—He suddenly lost his train of thought and stopped dead in his tracks.

There was blood on the road.

First he thought he might be seeing things, but there was no denying it. Something very dark red was there, not just a little, but a hell of a lot. It had to be blood, or some really dark paint. He had reached another intersection of yet another unknown street, and there was a large trail of crimson moving around the curve, as if someone bleeding heavily ('_Too heavily…_') had made a right turn here. It was still very wet from the looks of it. Miles looked to his right.

"Holy shit."

There was someone there. Only a silhouette, but it was someone. And whoever it was disappeared before he could even fully process what he saw. "Hey!" he called out. He jogged after the person, expecting to see him or her appear through the fog soon, considering whoever it was seemed to be limping. "Are you okay!?"

To his surprise, the person didn't seem to appear anywhere. He kept on jogging, but he never ran into someone. Just blood, more and more blood leading down the concrete road.

'_This doesn't make any sense…_'

He screeched to a halt when the blood trailed off the concrete road and into a dirt one, right through an open gate. Miles didn't feel like following it was a wise choice, but he had to. What if someone was hurt? He couldn't just leave them there…

His conscience took him over and he continued to jog after whoever was leaving that trail behind. His jog lasted only about ten seconds before he heard something.

Static.

What sounded like a radio with a bad signal on highest volume was heard somewhere beyond his sight. His jog turned into a walk as he cautiously crept forward. The static was getting louder.

A tunnel appeared before him, partially boarded up, but not nearly enough so that you couldn't see the end of it. There were just a bunch of boards and planks stopping any cars from coming in, covering the tunnel entrance like a spider-web. The blood led right into it, where the static emitted off of the dark walls.

'_…fuck that. I'm not going in there._'

But he did anyway, feeling almost pulled towards the loud noise. He was too curious and too worried to just turn around and leave now. He grasped onto one board and crawled through one of the larger holes in the web of wood. There was a strangely placed table on the left side of the short tunnel, and not really anything else that looked out of place (other than the second web of wood on the other side, of course). The static was insanely loud now, and the young fox noticed there was a small pocket radio resting stagnant on the table.

"What's wrong with this thing?" he asked, picking up the radio. "I wonder who left this on…"

The sound was really irritating, and scaring him. Something about radio static always made him feel uneasy, and it was one of those many things in his life he didn't know was classified as a normal reaction or not. Either way, it was annoying. He spotted the off switch and pressed it.

But the sound didn't stop.

"What the—"

"_ooooooOOOOOOHHHHH!!_"

Miles fur stood on end and he jumped, looking at where the loud moan came from.

Something got up.

His eyes widened in horror when he finally got a good look at the…hell, it sure wasn't human, or any sort of furry either. At least, not anymore. The creature looked like the result of a man in a straight jacket being burnt alive. Its arms seemed to be melded into its torso, its head had no face, and there weren't any other features on its body other than a strange hole where the nose should be. Its whole body looked disgustingly brown and dead.

"Oh my god…"

As if responding to his voice, the straightjacket man started twitching, and then limped towards him, dripping a trail of blood out of its rear end.

Miles stepped backwards, and the creature stepped forward. Suddenly, it threw its head forward and spat out some black bile, which let off some steam as if it were hot and toxic.

'_What the fuck is that thing!!?_'

Miles looked around, desperately searching for something, _anything_ to defend himself with. Whatever the creature was, it obviously wasn't friendly. And the orange kitsune felt terrified when he couldn't find anything to fight off the thing. It continued to limp towards him blindingly slowly.

'_There's a whole crapload of boards right behind you. Use them!_'

Miles turned and grabbed off a thin part of the barricade, pulling with all his strength. The wood broke off from the rest of the web, and Miles held it in front of him, feeling disturbed yet pleased to see the long plank had a slightly bent nail at the end of it.

"_ooooOOOOOhh!!!!!_" the creature cried as it spat more bile. It limped towards him once more, only a few feet away from him now. Miles let out a battle cry of terror and thoughtlessly brought the plank down on the creatures head hard, knocking it down to the floor and splattering sprinkles of blood across the tunnel walls.

It wasn't like in the movies. Miles felt sick to his stomach the moment he heard the muted unnatural crack of the creature's skull through its melded flesh. It let out a scream that he couldn't describe, and then stopped moving. It was dead, and the radio static died with it.

There was a long silence, in which the fear finally began to filter out of Miles's mind. He pulled the now bloody end of the plank out of the monsters head and looked down at it, disgusted.

"What the fuck _is_ this?" he asked himself once again, wide eyed. All hopes that there might be something normal about this town died, just like this creature did. He poked it with the plank, growing even more disgusted by the second.

Plank firmly in hand, Miles backed away until his back hit something, causing him to jump and spin around—just like that batgirl did earlier—and breathe a sigh of relief when he realized it was just the barricade. Quickly, he climbed back out of the tunnel, through the larger hole of the wooden web. He knew one thing was for sure: he didn't want to be near whatever he'd just killed.

He only made it a few steps away from the place before the radio suddenly burst to life a second time, sending him into another startled jump. He looked down and pulled the small radio out of his pocket. He didn't even realize he put it there when he saw the monster.

"What's up with this thing?" he asked. He just noticed he'd been asking himself a whole lot of questions lately. But hey, he needed answers. Somehow he got the feeling he wouldn't be getting any anytime soon though.

A voice came over the radio.

"_Tails!_"

Miles eyes almost bugged out. Over the static, that voice was unmistakably familiar. And even if it wasn't, only one person called him by that name.

"Sonic!?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Sonic's voice continued speaking, but a bad transmission or something caused it to be barely audible. It kept fading in and out, overcome by static.

"_…ils…ere ar……d you k…………waiting for yo………k to………………………Is……w…………..h………lost? I'm………..Tails. P…………..ls! Can't……..ar………Ta……ails! Tails! Ta…_"

The hedgehog's voice sounded distressed and sad. The radio shut off suddenly, leaving Miles, nicknamed Tails by his boyfriend, staring down, not believing what he just heard.

"He really _is _here…" he whispered, speechless. He pocketed the radio once again, knowing he'd better keep it.

'_That strange bat was right. This place isn't safe at all._' he thought to himself. '_But Sonic's here…oh Sonic…there's no way I'm leaving now, no matter how dangerous this place is. I'm going to find you Sonikku, I promise…_'

Rosewater Park should only be about a mile away…

Reassured that his love might actually be here, Miles "Tails" Prower marched on forward.


	3. White Noise

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Sonic Hill 2

Chapter 3: White Noise

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They were everywhere.

His body pumped full of adrenaline, Miles ran through the streets of the town, evading and avoiding the straightjacket monsters that passed him by along the way. Killing that first one seemed to trigger all the others to wake up or something, and they were all aimlessly roaming the foggy streets. Luckily, like the first, they didn't move very fast, and most of them were too far apart to be a problem. But the fox was hopelessly afraid of being cornered by a group of them or something, and used his plank on one of the creatures whenever they got too close. The piece of wood was proving very useful, and he was glad he'd ripped it off that barricade or he'd be really screwed right now.

As if the weather and monsters weren't a big enough problem, many of the roads in the town seemed to be blocked off by a chain link fence. Miles had thought he could just climb over it, but he quickly noticed that the top of all the fences were wrapped in a thick set of barbed wire. So he'd have to find another way around—or some very large and strong scissors. Either way would work.

Or it seemed like they would.

'_Oh goddamnit. I'm lost. I need a map._'

Sighing, he began to jog once more. All this running around was beginning to make him sweat, and the coldness of the town felt rather comfortable against his fur. But he was too worried about running into another one of those things to notice.

The radio static burst to life once again, and the fox tensed up, holding up the plank. It seemed that the static was only on when a monster was nearby. He was really glad he found the radio now; because now he could tell a monster was not too far from him before it appeared from the fog. The static got louder as a straightjacket monster came into view.

"Yah!" With a shout he swung the plank hard and bashed the straightjacket monster over the head. It fell to the floor and spazmed for a while before he nervously kicked it, ending its short life somewhat guiltily. '_I wonder how many of these things there are…is this the reason people left the town? Or are these monsters what used to be the…the…_'

He shook his head. He really didn't want to think about it right now. Hopping over the corpse, he jogged down the road, stopping at another intersection and turning left. He wasn't sure where the hell he was going, but if he didn't get turned around somewhere, the park should be that direction.

Passing by a few monsters and cars later, he stopped and groaned in aggravation. There was another fence blocking off the street he stood on.

"Is _every _road to the park blocked off?"

He really wasn't sure how many roads there could be left. This part of town didn't look very familiar, probably because of the fog and all. The place was large, and he was sick and tired of running around aimlessly without being able to see. It was extremely disorienting, not to mention scary.

There was a strange metal thing on the wall of a building only a few feet away from him. His curiosity took him over once again and he walked over to it, trying to read it. It looked like a memorial of some sort, but the words were barely legible from the dirt and obvious signs of age. He could only make out a few words.

'**_Remains of ----- Swamp  
The ----ers of land surroun---- -- is monument was originally a swamp, but was later fil----- Fr----ng ago, t----------s nicknamed Blood Swamp because the -------ers poured the wat-- -sed to was the ex------ols in here. Perhaps it's fo------hat many pe-----m to have s---- ------n the area._**'

"Weird…" he thought. "Blood Swamp? I don't remember hearing about that place…"

He shook his head and looked around some more. Better take this road back to the intersection he just turned on, then go down the right lane past the other roads he already went by and try to find a road that goes around the fence. Yeah, that should work.

Once again, he began to run.

---_Later…_---

There was a trailer not too far ahead, on the side of the road. Its door was open wide, as if someone rushed out in a hurry. Whoever it wasn't didn't make it very far.

There was a body on the floor.

He didn't pay much mind to it at first, thinking it was just another straightjacket monster. But he remembered he hadn't gone down this road yet, which meant someone else must have killed it. To his horror, upon closer inspection he found it to not be a monster at all. It was the remains of a mangled human being, flesh torn to pieces. There was a look of terror on the man's pale face, whose blue eyes were opened wide. There were pieces of paper all around the ground - looked like whoever it was was holding a notebook that got torn up. Miles picked up one piece of paper—his hands trembling from the fear of whatever killed the man—and read what was scribbled onto the paper in neat handwriting.

'**_I'm going to write everything that I've learned so far. Maybe that will help you out some how. If you're reading this, it probably means I'm already dead._**'

Miles glanced at the body once more, feeling sorry for whoever it was. "He must have known…"

He looked around at the other pieces of notebook paper. He picked up the nearest one and read it.

'**_I saw those demons. They were there, I'm certain. But my friend says he didn't see anything. If that's true, does that mean that what I saw was an illusion? But whether that demon that ate other living things was real, or whether it was just some kind of hallucination that my mind dreamed up, one thing I know for sure is that I'm beyond all hope._**'

A note a few feet away from it.

'**_It seems that they're attracted to light. That's why people who need light to see are their natural prey. They also react strongly to sound. If you want to go on living, you'd be better off just sitting in the dark and staying quiet. But even that probably won't save you._**'

And a final one a yard away.

'**_If you're going to try to fight them, the most important thing is to relax. It's dangerous to fire a gun while you're all crazy with fear. Take good aim, and then squeeze the trigger. And don't forget to finish them off. I think most of those creatures can be killed, even if they are tougher than people._**'

"Yeah, a gun. That's what I could use." Miles muttered. The man had obviously been here for a lot longer than he has. "What happened to this town…?"

A distant moan was heard, and his ears perked up. It sounded like another one of those creatures—they were probably closing in on him or something. He couldn't tell – but the radio static wasn't buzzing so he must be safe for now. Most of them didn't seem to follow him for very long, so he wasn't sure what the safest move would be next.

'_Check the trailer._' A part of his mind told him. '_It might be that man's. Maybe he has a gun or something._'

Nodding, Miles jumped into the trailer, barely being able to see anything in the darkness inside. He searched around, and spotted yet another note on the kitchen counter, lying in the light from outside the window.

'**_I'm going to the Gates Bar_.**'

"Gates Bar..." He looked out the window. "Maybe there's other people there, or…hell, I don't know. But it's something." He had remembered passing by the bar a few blocks away. Better check it out at least before trying to go somewhere else – it's not like there were any unblocked roads here anyway. He stepped out of the trailer; probably imitating the way the now dead human in front of him did, and began to run once more. He'd just walked around in the place that that man had spent the last moments of his life in, and the thought of that creeped him out.

Eventually he made it to the bar, panting heavily. He pushed the door open and walked in, sad but not surprised when he didn't see anybody there. Looks like there really was no one in this town except that man and the bat. And now he was beginning to wish he stayed with the latter one. He didn't like being alone, especially not here.

'**_there was a hole here, its gone now_**' was carved into the wall at one end of the bar, along with an arrow pointing down to the ground. Miles raised an eyebrow, concluding that it wasn't any of his business to worry about. He looked around the main pub and spotted a piece of paper on one end. Walking over to it, his heart jumped for joy when he noticed it was a map of the southern part of town, the section he was in.

"Yes! This is just what I need!" Miles grinned as he grabbed the map. The town looked a lot smaller and less complicated on the map, obviously, and the street names and other locations would make it a lot easier to move around. "Now if I could just find a way to that park…"

He was becoming frustrated, and losing hope of making it to Sonic. From the looks of it, he'd tried just about all the roads to the place, and all were blocked off. This defiantly wasn't his lucky day.

"Wait a minute…"

He spotted an alleyway on the end of the Woodside Apartment building, which was about five blocks away. It dead ended at another building, but hugged the apartment building while leading up North till it ended at the main road: Doggie Avenue. Rosewater Park was only across the street and a little to the left of where the alley ended.

'_Maybe if I can get through the apartment building and exit via the backdoor, I can take that alleyway to the main road and get to the park!_' he considered the idea. Walking through a closed hallway with the possibility of monsters being around didn't sound like a very good idea, but from the looks of it it's the only way he could get to the park. He'd have to go. '_Alright. That's my next target. Woodside Apartments…_'

Aware of the dangers ahead, Miles headed for the apartment building.

---_Later…_---

"eeeee_EEEEEE!!_"

Miles jumped and cried out in fear when the sound of a creature screamed into his ears. The radio static burst to life and suddenly a straightjacket monster crawled—practically shot out—from underneath a white van. It started slithering around the place, making one hell of a racket and moving a lot faster than it did on foot. Miles considered fighting it, but he really didn't want to get anywhere near it now nor waste the energy. The monster crawled towards him, but he quickly hopped over it and began to run. It lost interest in him and crawled somewhere else pretty quickly. The apartments were less than a block away, and soon he spotted it.

The gate to it was closed, but not locked thankfully. He pulled it open and stepped onto the front garden grounds. The front door to the apartment lay straight ahead, and nothing else of interest seemed to be in the area, so he walked through the front door.

Darkness soon clouded his view, replacing the fog. Great. Just great. It was almost pitch black in the obviously abandoned apartment building. Just from the entrance hallway he could tell.

'_Shit._ _If there are any monsters here I'm screwed._'

'_Relax._' Another part of his mind told him. '_Those monsters don't have arms, so they probably can't open doors. Besides, even if they are here the radio will alert you of that long before they can reach you._'

Letting out a sigh and still clutching the plank so hard it was leaving imprints through his gloves to his palm, Miles cautiously stepped down the hall, hearing nothing but the insanely loud creek of his shoes on the wood flooring. From the looks of it (well, not that he could see much anything anyway) the windows were boarded up and all the lights were off, which explained the darkness. He could still make out the impression of something on the hall. He felt along the wall and realized it must be a bulletin board. He knew he'd need a map of the place, so he grabbed the largest sheet of paper and hoped for the best. He wouldn't be able to tell until he got some sort of light source.

And he found it; there was a stairway at the end of the hall, leading up left. There was a dim light on the ceiling above the stairway. He walked up to it and felt a slight bit more comfortable being able to see his hands before him. He looked at the paper and realized it really was the map. Smiling, he continued up the stairs. All he'd have to do was take a left at the second floor hallway and leave via the fire escape, and then take the catwalk down to the street. Easy.

At least, that's what he thought.

To his dismay, he soon found that the fire escape door was locked.

"Erg…Now all I need is to run into some monsters…"

He'd have to find the Fire Escape key, or at least some other means of getting to the other side of the building. He decided to look around the place. And so he walked down the hallway, trying every door he came across. The first four doors were locked, unfortunately. But the fifth, Room 205, wasn't. He pushed the door open and shielded his eyes when something very bright shined into his face. He groaned as his eyeballs burned. Covering his face with his free hand, he moved into the room and out of the light's path. Shaking his head, his eyes finally adjusted and he saw what the light source was.

He grinned. There was a mannequin standing up at the end of the room, wearing red and orange boots, along with a red dress and a tie. A rather weird outfit, and even weirder place to find it, but that wasn't important. In the breast of the mannequin was a small but very powerful flashlight.

He picked up the flashlight and turned its brightness down, feeling a lot better now. Now he could actually see where he was going at least.

'_Who left this here though?_' he asked. '_And how long was this light on before I—_'

Before he could finish the thought the radio burst to life again. He jumped and held out the plank, ready to hit anything that moved.

But nothing was there.

"Huh?" he asked. The radio only made noises when he was near a monster so far, why would it start up for no reason now? The only thing in the room was a few more mannequins, and a few fake legs, arms, and other body parts lying around. Nothing harmful.

That is, until one of them moved.

"Hoooly…" Miles backed away. The mannequin in front of him began to twitch, suddenly. It wasn't much more than a torso with some legs attached to its body and head, but it was moving.

And then it charged at him.

Miles cried out and jumped out of the way, just barely missing an attack from the two pairs of legs. He was bewildered at just seeing it. How could it see him? How could it _breathe_?

'_Hit it!_' his mind cried.

He raised the plank to smack the monster down, but before he could the mannequin monster kicked him over the head, sending him falling to the floor dizzily. "Gah!" he cried. The monster, wearing high heels and pantyhose, kicked him in the ribs, causing him to groan out in pain. He smacked the thing's legs with the plank, sending it spiraling over because it was so light. It fell to the floor as Miles got up, and this time the fox brought the plank down on its "torso". It didn't make a sound, just began to spasm. He hit it again. This time it stopped moving. But the radio static continued. He kicked the thing and that's when the radio stopped.

"Jesus Christ." Miles said, not believing what just happened. "This place is fucking insane!"

He didn't know the half of it. But he soon would. Very soon.


	4. Souls of a Lost Town

****

Sonic Hill 2

Chapter 4: Souls of a Lost Town

------

A locked steel gate blocked off most of the third floor hallway. Only about a quarter of it was accessible; he'd need to find a way to open the gate or get around if he wanted to check out the other side. He was getting sick and tired of these gates.

"...hey, wait." He said, looking down. The flashlight shined on something reflective. He looked closer and noticed it was a key. Maybe it's the Fire Escape key! It was on the other end of the bars, but not out of arms reach. Miles dropped to the floor and reached through the bars. Maybe he was wrong. He could just barely grab it, but his fingers reached the edge of the key. He strained his arm and tried to pull it towards him—

Until suddenly someone stomped on his hand, causing him to cry out from the small pain. He looked up to see a young pink hedgehog standing on the other end of the bars, wearing a pink dress and white and pink boots, grinning madly at him. Before he could move, she took her boot off of his hand and kicked the key out of reach.

"Haha!" she laughed, her young voice filled with joy like she'd pulled a funny prank.

"Hey!" Miles shouted in anger. The girl, still grinning, turned and ran away, disappearing into the shadows. "Come back here!" She didn't though, of course. She was already gone. "Damnit…"

The key was way too far for him to reach now. Shocked and angry, Miles pulled his aching hand away from the bars. He rubbed it, staring into the shadows the young girl disappeared into. She looked like she couldn't be any older than twelve years old. "What the hell is a little girl doing in a place like _this_?"

None of that mattered anymore, because the brat was already gone, after foiling his plans of escaping the place easily. He'd have to find another way to get out, or grab that key. But at least now he knew a key was there, and that's good.

"Stupid stupidhead…" he grumbled, turning and walking down the other part of the hallway, which quickly ended at a boarded up window.

There were only two other doors on this side of the hall. He tried the first one: Room 301. He opened the door and raised an eyebrow at the room's interior. The three-room apartment was trashed. Furniture and other crap was all over the place. But most noticeable of all were the holes. There were tiny holes everywhere in the room, covering up seemingly every square inch of the place. It looked like someone had come in there with a sub-machine gun and shot the hell out of the place.

And then he noticed the shopping cart sitting in the middle of the room. This place just got weirder and weirder. He walked over to the cart and looked inside. His eyes lit up.

There was a single handgun in the cart, as if someone left it there on purpose.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, picking it up. He examined it, trying to figure out how to eject the clip. He didn't know shit about guns, but at least now he could defend himself.

Eventually he figured it out and ejected the clip, sad to see that the clip was empty. "Ugh…" But at least he _had _a gun now, and its weight made him feel a lot more comfortable. He looked at the plank he'd dropped on the floor in his excitement, trying to figure out what to do next.

'_I need a bag or side pack or something…_' he looked around the room. None was nearby. '_At this rate I won't be able to carry everything soon…_'

The small "pocket" of his fur was starting to feel crowded and it made it feel weird to walk after he placed the weapon in it. With the plank resting in both hands, he moved out of the room. The other hallway door was locked, so he went back to the second floor.

He walked down the hallway, not sure of what move to make next. All the doors were locked; he didn't know how he was going to get to that key…

"_AAAAAAAHHHH!_"

Miles jumped as a male scream of agony pierced the silence of the apartment building. He looked over to where it was coming from – down the right hallway. The scream ended as quickly as it came, and the silence faded back into place. Wide-eyed, the orange fox stared down into the hall. "Who was that?" he asked himself. "Oh man…"

Cautiously, he crept down the hall, waiting for the radio static to burst to life any second. But it didn't.

Instead, he saw another metal-barred gate, like the one upstairs.

And behind it stood a large creature unlike anything he'd seen before in his entire life. It had arms and legs and stood bipedal like a human or furry, but that was all the normal traits he could see. Covering most of its body was some strange old and dirty cloth that almost resembled that of a pillowcase. There were stains all over the cloth from who knows what, along with tons of tiny holes and rips. In one hand it held what looked like a gigantic knife—its length was even bigger than the fox himself. But most noticeably was the things head, which was covered by a gigantic dark-red helmet shaped like a small pyramid. Pointy edges of the helmet were gray with rust, and the whole thing was larger than the monsters whole body! It stood six feet tall, making the four-foot tall fox feel like a tiny rodent.

Miles just stared at it, not sure how to react. In fact, he was frozen with fear. Had the metal bars not stood in between them…he didn't even want to think of that. The pyramid headed thing just stood there like a statue, staring back at him. It was moving—breathing anyway—but didn't seem to be interested in doing anything more than just staring at the terrified fox.

His right hand slowly inched towards the door next to him, eyes locked on where the beast's face should be. He was too afraid to make any sudden movements, for he felt that if he did, the monster would react. So far it was almost as if it were asleep.

His hand grasped the handle, slowly turning it. The door opened a slight bit, and he moved into the room, not taking his eyes away from the creature until the door blocked his view.

He then closed it shut, putting his back to it instantly and breathing a sigh of extreme relief. Closing his eyes, he put his hand to his forehead and rubbed it over his scalp fur. Finally relaxing, he opened his eyes.

And regretted it.

Tiny sprinkles of crimson leaked everywhere, and there was a large bullet hole in the back of an armchair in the corner of the room, which stood in front of a snowy TV screen.

An arm was hanging off the side of the chair, like someone was sleeping there. The blood-coated hole was in the same location as the hole on the TV set, which must mean…

Too afraid to go back outside, and horrified at what he knew he was going to see, Miles slowly crept towards the armchair, moving past it and looking at what—or who—was laying in it.

He was hoping it would just be nothing, and he knew that wasn't true, but he'd never expected to see what he did. The body of another young male fox—this one was even orange-yellow like him—lay there, head slumped down and bleeding heavily. There was a large bullet hole in his forehead, which was aligned with the armchair and television hole, as if someone had shot him from behind with a powerful gun…

Miles looked away, closing his eyes shut and holding back the urge to vomit. It was easy enough, for he hadn't eaten much anything earlier anyway. That fox looked freakishly a lot like him, and he didn't even want to look to see if the fox had two tails like he did—the idea of that was just ridiculous, and he didn't even want to see. His back to the corpse, he opened his eyes and looked around the room. There wasn't anything else noticeably strange about the rest of the room (although he could see the shadow of the corpse illuminating off the wall from the TV screen's static…), but there was an open door that led to an empty looking room. He might as well check it out while he was here though, so he moved in the new room.

There was a large grandfather clock on the left wall, which didn't seem to be turned on. The hour hand was on ten, the minute hand on two, which caused the fox to question if the clock had ever even been used or not. Other than that, there was absolutely nothing in the whole room, except for some markings on the wall and a small key on the floor. Miles bent down and picked up the key, reading the label on it: Room 202. That room was just down the hall…he then looked over at the writing carved into the wallpaper.

****

Harry Mark Steve

__

Three different sizes,

time on the run.

Three young men circlin'

around the sun.

Harry is short and

very, very slow,

Steve can't stop,

he's always on the go.

He raised an eyebrow. Who the hell carves random poetry into their wall?

'_Maybe that guy in the other room…_' Miles shuddered. He could still hear the static from the TV set not too far away.

There didn't seem to be anything else in the room, and he was getting tired of that staticy cry from the television, not to mention it was scaring the hell out of him. Quickly, he turned around and ran out of the room, trying not to glance at the corpse on his way out.

When he walked out of the apartment room and back into the hallway, he noticed two things right away. One: That monster at the other end of the bars was gone. Two: He wasn't alone.

The radio static—similar to that of the television—let out its annoying buzz, alerting the fox that a monster was nearby. He looked down the hall, his handy flashlight shining on the twitching body of a straightjacket monster. Instantly, the fox raised the plank and walked towards it. Before it could spit at him, he smashed the plank over its head, just like with the others, knocking it down. He was beginning to learn the simplistic reactions the creatures had, and kicked the monster before it could begin crawling around. It died, but the static did not.

Before he could look around, the sound of something crying out was heard and suddenly something wet hit his arm. Miles cried out in pain and backed away, trying to wipe the disgusting vomit off of him. It burnt, not so much like acid but more like extremely hot water. He looked up and shouted once more, spinning and smacking the wood into the second straightjacket monster's body. It didn't fall over, but stumbled backwards instead, its head bleeding profusely. The fox slammed the plank down on its head, smashing fragments of skull and bone into its tiny brain. It fell to the floor, joining its partner. This time, the static ended.

"Okay, I think I'm getting used to this…" Miles breathed a sigh. He felt downright nasty for his actions, and it scared him how easy it was for him to kill, but at least he was safe. _Safer_, anyway.

He walked down the hallway, turning right at the T, and unlocked the door to room 202 with his new key.

As his flashlight shined into the new room, cutting through the darkness, a ton of small things fluttered around. It took Miles a second for him to realize that the whole room was filled with small, multicolored butterflies.

'_My God, when does it end!?_'

Shrugging off the extra bit of weirdness, Miles walked into the room, waiting for the radio static to begin. But it didn't, thankfully. This was the first apartment room that actually looked somewhat tidy—other than the hundreds of butterflies of course. Most of them fluttered away from him when he got near, so he wasn't worrying about them crawling on him or something. There was an open door that led into a bedroom, and something was reflecting light off of his flashlight in the back wall of the room. Miles walked into the room and stopped at the wall, staring at the strange hole there.

He saw something shiny in there, maybe another key…but sticking his hand into the wall to find out what it was didn't seem like a good idea. But there might be a key in there, and he'd need it if he wanted to get out. If he wanted to find Sonic…

He made up his mind and slowly—reluctantly—put his hand into the hole. The thought of something inside the hole biting it off or something terrified him, but he had no choice. He reached farther into the hole, trying to find the key.

Something moved across his fingers.

Miles yanked his hand out quickly, his whole body feeling yet another chill of terror. For a second he expected something to jump out and bite him or something, but the room was just as silent as ever.

Sweat forming on his brow; Miles took a deep breath once again. He quickly shoved his hand back into the hole and yanked it out with the key in his palm, extremely relieved.

'_Okay. Don't pull shit like that again._' What he just did was one of those things that make one feel really stupid once they think it over. He had a dreaded feeling in his stomach that the day was still far from over. '_Just…get out of here._ _Yeah…_'

He looked down at the key, sweatdropping at its name. He had the feeling it said "Clock Key" on it's surface, but the L seemed to be faded away, making it say "C-ock Key." Considering how much fear he'd experienced to find it, it was rather funny. He snickered a little, and then stopped as the seriousness of the situation sunk back in. Turning, he pocketed the key and ran back into the hallway.

The monsters bodies were gone.

He didn't even want to think of where they went. He ran back to the end of the left hallway, stopping at the gate and reluctantly pushing the door open into the room where the corpse was.

And that body was missing too.

He felt a sinking feeling in his heart, a feeling that that pyramid headed monster…

Wait a second. Why didn't the radio static turn on when he was next to the Pyramid Head?

'_Not good._' He thought, sounding a lot calmer in his mind than he'd expected. '_That thing's walking around and I won't be able to tell where it is till it's right next to me. Not good at all. Not good not good not good…_'

Shaking his head, he ran back into the grandfather clock room. There was a keyhole next to the side of the main part of the clock. He used the Clock Key and opened it up, allowing him to turn the clock's arrows if he wanted to.

'_Okay, yeah the ability to do that probably wasn't worth all that crap I just did, but that poem…_'

That poem on the wall behind him seemed to tell him something, and he quickly figured the clock must have to do with it. Harry, Mark, Steve?

'_Three different sizes…Harry's shortest and slowest, Steve's the fastest…that makes sense. Harry, Mark, Steve. Hours, Minutes, Seconds…_'

Okay, figured that out. Now how was _that _supposed to help the situation?

He had no idea, but the strange "puzzle" wasn't going to solve itself. He grabbed onto the smallest arrow—Seconds, or Steve he should say—and pulled it down. When it passed by the three the clock suddenly made a clicking sound and moved the slightest bit to the left. He wouldn't have even noticed the movement had it not made a noise from dragging against the ground. He looked on the right side of the clock to see a crack of another room.

'_…is this clock covering a door?_'

He put the plank on the ground, stood on the right side of the clock and pushed it as hard as he could. It moved surprisingly easily, revealing a huge hole in the wall that opened up into another apartment room – room 123.

'_Interesting…_'

Picking up the plank, he stepped over the remains of the wall, through the hole, and into the second room. It looked pretty much the same as all the other apartment rooms basically did. Nothing special. But the door leaving the room led to the other side of the steel-barred gate.

Which in turn, should lead to the stairway, which led to the third floor hallway, which would lead to the other end of the second gate, where the Fire Escape key was!

Smiling, Miles ran through the door, up the hallway to the stairs, and walked up the steps. Finally, he was going to get to that key and get out.

Thankfully the 3rd floor doorway was unlocked, and he walked into the third floor hallway. Might as well check all the doors as he went along, like in the other halls. Maybe he could find something useful…

As he expected though, the first two doors he passed were locked. To his surprise though, the third door down opened. He walked into the new room, only to hear some very strange noises first thing.

'_What the…?_'

Miles slowly walked left, following the small apartment room's hall. The third floor apartments seemed to work the same way the local hotel did: largest and most expensive rooms on the top floor. But that wasn't exactly what he was thinking about. What was that noise?

The most grotesque thing he ever saw when he turned the corner was something he'd have engraved in his memory forever. Just like every other horrible thing he'd already seen and will see. His jaw dropped in disgusted, horrified fascination at the sight before him.

The Pyramid Head—the same monster he'd seen just a little while ago on the other end of the bars—was there, brutally fucking two leg mannequin monsters at the same time. They made no sound—except that certain _squish _that made the fox want to hurl—but their many legs shook and stretched, as if it were trying to escape the Pyramid Head's strong grip. The monster continuously thrust into one of the mannequin's torsos, while holding the other down with his free hand. The whole time it was grunting and groaning in what was obviously supreme satisfaction.

That is, until its body went erect and it emptied itself into the mannequin. Miles, horribly disgusted, realized he was just standing there and his mind suddenly screamed with fear. He looked around desperately for someplace to hide before the Pyramid monster—who was currently stuffing the mannequin he'd just raped into the kitchen sink's garbage disposal like it was some leftovers—noticed he was there. He looked to his right and spotted a closet door. Quickly he grabbed it, opened it, and then jumped in, shutting the door behind him and backing up to the wall.

More strange sounds were heard. Grotesque sounds. Miles covered his ears and shut his eyes tight, trying to block out the mental images he was getting at exactly what was going on in the kitchen right now. Until suddenly, the sounds stopped.

And the Pyramid being's heavy footsteps were heard.

That's when it dawned on Miles. And just like several times within the past hour, his terror grew greater.

'_YOU STILL HAVE THE FLASHLIGHT ON!!!_'

The closet's door had closed blinds, but the Pyramid monster could obviously see the light filtered through it. The light itself shook, as a result of Miles's now shaking body. His hands trembling, he grabbed for the light and tried to shut it off. But to his horrified dismay, before he could the light stopped shining on the wall and shined on something much much closer to the door.

It turned off, leaving them both in almost complete darkness.

…

…

…

He put his hand on his heart, hearing its rapid beating. He stared forward, but could only see the silhouette of the creature with the even darker shadow of the apartment behind it. It seemed to be staring directly at him once again, holding up a strange metal flap where its eyes should be, as if trying to figure out if there was someone in the closet or not.

(_come out of the closet tails_)

Miles held his breath, not sure whether it was his own mind saying the sick pun, or if it were the Pyramid monster itself. His blood ran cold, and that second he knew he was about to die.

His hands felt all over the wall, screaming to find some way of getting behind the wall and safely away from the monster, until they hit something small and hard.

A handgun bullet clip.

'_YES!_' his mind screamed. Not exactly of joy, but for the slight hope he might just be able to escape. He pulled out the handgun and—not even being able to see what he was doing—loaded it. It seemed the click of the gun was what finally told the Pyramid Head that the fox was here. For it let out a roar of what sounded like anger. Miles raised the handgun to his eye level.

__

'"If you're going to try to fight them, the most important thing is to relax. It's dangerous to fire a gun while you're all crazy with fear. Take good aim, and then squeeze the trigger. And don't forget to finish them off. I think most of those creatures can be killed, even if they are tougher than people."' The note had said.

Gun drawn, Miles held still and tried his best to calm down. He failed miserably. The monster reached for the handle of the closet, about to open it, when the fox squeezed the trigger.

-_BANG!_

And the creature cried out in pain, for the bullet had amazingly gone through the open flap for its eyes and hit its real organic face. Bulls Eye. Had Miles blindingly aimed any higher or lower he would have been dead by now. The flap fell closed as Pyramid head fell backwards, only to be hit by three more bullets right away by the fox who before now had never fired a gun in his life. Groaning in agony rather than pleasure, it turned and rushed out of the room.

…

Miles couldn't believe what had just happened. His back hit the wall behind him and—still shaking—he wiped sweat from his now wet fur.

"W-wow…j-j-just…oh man…" Speechless. That moment had made the other three look as scary as a box of puppies.

A moment of silence later, he turned the flashlight back on and walked out of the closet. The corpse of one of the mannequins was on the kitchen floor, its legs ripped off. The second mannequin wasn't visible, and he could only see a single high-heeled shoe sticking out of the sink's garbage disposal.

'_Jesus. I didn't know monsters did _that' He thought to himself.

There was another key on the floor, next to one of the mannequin's legs. Looks like Pyramid Head had dropped it. Picking it up, Miles read the label to see it was the Courtyard Key. The courtyard door was right near the entrance to the apartment, but he hadn't even known it was locked before he went upstairs…well, looks like he can check out what's going on over there.

'_Not that I seem to have much of a choice._' He thought. This apartment building was beginning to feel like a rat's maze or something. He went back to the apartment's front door, opening it and looking up and down the hallway. The radio turned on.

Miles went back to the closet and picked up the plank he had dropped accidentally, almost forgetting about the trusty weapon once again. Since he had gotten the gun it seemed rather useless, but he knew his ammo supply was limited and he'd need something to defend himself once the clip was empty.

The hallway just had three straightjacket monsters, all of which Miles dispatched without too much retaliation. Other than vomiting on him they didn't seem to really have any effective attacks, and even that one attack didn't hurt him that much. It morely just made him feel extremely unpleasant.

Anyway, now he was on the other side of the bars where he'd tried to get that one key. And just as the little girl had left it, the key was on the floor. She sure caused a load of trouble for him, but he finally had it at least.

'_Now to check out those two places…_'

---_Later…_---

Getting to the courtyard was rather easy; all he had to do was take the East 3rd Floor Stairway down to the first floor, accessing a new area of the apartments. Nothing useful was there (but he did spot a strange looking coin which he couldn't help but keep – he liked collecting rare coins, and he'd never seen one with the face of an old man engraved on it like this one), but the door out of that area led back outside. Then it was just a matter of running across the front yard, back to the first room he had entered in the place, and trying his luck on the new door. The key fit perfectly and opened it wide into a large swimming pool area.

The fog seemed less dense here, and as Miles walked closer to the pool he could make out the shapes of some straightjacket monsters. He knew they weren't furry or human right away because of the radio's continuous static. They were too far away to be a problem though, and what was actually in the empty swimming pool was fascinating more – another out of place shopping cart. Maybe there'd be another gun in there? He dropped down to the bottom of the empty pool to check it out, seeing only another coin there.

"Who'd—" he stopped himself. He'd get no answer anyway.

Pocketing the coin, he climbed back up out of the pool and began his walk towards the second apartment area on the opposite end of the pool. When he got to the door, he opened it just like always and cautiously peered into the dark hallway.

'_Clear. Alright. Time to check some rooms._'

For the first time that day, the first door he tried in the hallway was unlocked.

The lighting in the room was very dim, but at least it was existant. Miles was beginning to question why only some of the lights were on. But he stopped thinking of that the moment the smell hit him.

"Ugh!" he covered his nose and let out a sound of disgust. An extremely nasty smell emitted throughout the whole apartment room. Miles shined the flashlight everywhere, trying to figure out where it was coming from, and seeing nothing but a ton of overturned chairs, tables, and shelves packed full of football trophies and awards. The source of the smell became apparent pretty quickly.

There was another corpse, just like the one that was watching television. Its gray-furred body was riddled with bullet holes, and it was lying on the floor next to an opened refrigerator.

__

'Who are these people? And who's the one killing them?'

Maybe that Pyramid Head knew how to shoot a gun? He didn't know. The monster had already proved to have the ability to do something he'd never even wanted to imagine a monster could do…

"_Uugh…_"

A groan came from the bathroom. Miles quickly looked at the bathroom door, surprised at the sound. It didn't sound like a monster at all. In fact…

The young fox ran up to the already partially opened door and looked into the room.

The flashlight illuminated a man, hunched over a toilet and vomiting into it. The first thing he noticed was that the human looked rather strange. His thin long legs and arms contrasted with his large egg-shaped stomach, and the way the man was kneeling over he couldn't see his head, probably pointing out that his head was as out of place on his body as his arms and legs. He was wearing long rather tight fitted trousers and a red jacket, along with some white gloves.

"Hello?" Miles asked.

The egg-shaped man, startled, looked over to him. The human's bald head had a large red mustache, which was rooted right underneath his oversized pink nose. Even farther up his small face were some glasses and goggles which concealed his eyes. It was one of the strangest looking humans he'd ever seen.

"I didn't do it! It wasn't me!" he cried, as if Miles was an angered accusing parent.

"Didn't do what?" the fox asked, not expecting that to be the first thing he heard coming out of the fat man's mouth (other than vomit, anyway).

"I didn't do anything, I swear! That guy, he was like that when I got here!" The human nodded towards the dead body next to the fridge in the other room, right before he turned back to the toilet and hurled up some more bile.

'_This man looks more freaked than I am._' Miles thought. '_Jeez, I hope he's alright._'

"My…uh…" the fox tried to think up something to say to calm the guy down. "My name is Miles. Miles Prower."

The bald man looked at him for a second, raising an eyebrow. For a second the fox thought he was going to laugh (just like all the kids at school did. If they didn't make fun of him for being gay, or having two deformed tails, they'd make fun of his name: 'Miles Per Hour'.) But instead of laughing, the man turned back to the toilet and more grotesque noises emitted from his throat.

"Um…Eggman." He muttered once he stopped throwing up.

"Eggman?" This man obviously wasn't any normal human.

"Yes yes I know." He said. "If you don't have anything nice to say about my name, then just shut the fuck up. I'm tired of that bullshit."

'_Whoa…_' the fox didn't expect that either. "Alright……Eggman, who's that dead guy in the kitchen?"

"I didn't kill him."

"I know. But who _is _he?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Eggman asked, as if the question offended him. "Jesus, I think some guy's walking around shooting the hell out of people here. This place is fuckin' crazy!"

"Yeah, this apartment isn't too safe either…" Miles looked down at the floor. At least he wasn't the only one in town. He was suddenly really relieved to see another person, even if it was this strange old man. Eggman opened his mouth to say something, but instead turned and started barfing once again. "Are you okay?"

"Ugh. No." Eggman said, not facing him. "It's not every day you see a dead person."

"Yeah…" Then the fox realized this man might live here, and this was his one chance to ask some questions. "What happened here anyway?"

Eggman turned back to him. "I dunno. I don't even live in this town! I just…I just…"

"You too huh?" Miles knew exactly what Eggman was going through. "Something just sort of brought you here, right?"

"Yeah…you could say that."

"Well whatever it is, I think you better get out of here soon. It's dangerous."

Eggman nodded. "You're right. What about you?"

"I'll leave as soon as I'm done here." As much as he hated to leave the middle-aged man alone, he didn't want to get slowed down. Besides, the human didn't seem to be interested in following him anyway. "Eggman, be careful. Okay?"

"Yeah…um…you too." Eggman said, right before he put his head back over the toilet, making a mutilated gurgle before coughing up more half-digested food.

Ears trying to focus on something other than the fat man's throat, Miles walked out of the room and shut the door behind him, feeling almost relieved to be away from that person now. Like he was beginning to enjoy being away from others or something.

Still, he was very glad to see that he wasn't the only one alive in the whole town. It made him feel more comfortable walking around the place knowing there's someone else not too far away, at least.

Anyway, it was time to get out of this place. After trying all the other doors in the hall and not finding any unlocked, Miles took the stairway up to the second floor. He went into the room with the hole in the wall, which led to the clock room and then into the TV room, which finally led him back to the other side of the 2nd Floor Hallway's gate. He ran down the hall, turning right at the fork, and finally reached the fire escape.

Glad to be finally leaving, Miles slid the Fire Escape key into the slot and turned. The door opened out…

But there wasn't a fire escape there.

In fact, there was a whole other building, just about two feet away from this one. There was no door there, but an open window, which was exactly parallel with the door.

"Goddamnit!" Miles shouted. That's strange; this second apartment building must be brand new, because it wasn't even listed on the town's map. Looks like if he wanted to get out of here, he'd need to get through this building too. "Not a good day." He muttered.

He stepped over the two-foot distance between the two buildings and climbed through the window, ending up in a rather tidy and large bedroom. After vaguely searching the room, he didn't come up with anything that could be useful, other than a portable safe on the table. He always thought those things were stupid—it'd just give the criminal robbing your house an easier way to steal your belongings. He didn't know the code to the safe either so he didn't even want to bother.

He walked out of the room, looking down the long straightforward hallway. From the looks of it, this apartment building was smaller than the other one, and that's good. Because he was getting sick and tired of it all.

He tried his luck on all the doors, only to find literally all of them were locked, except for the door to the stairway. There was a tiny note posted on the door to room 209 though. He shined the flashlight on it and tried to read the tiny handwriting.

'**_Dear Tom,_**

I have to run an errand so I'm going out. I left the house key with Uncle Luigi (You know where he lives, don't you? The key is in the room near the first floor staircase.) I'll be back as soon as I can, so please watch the place while I'm gone.'

"First Floor Staircase…" he took note of that. Turning, he walked back to the staircase door and opened it into the stairway. He spotted and grabbed the map posted next to the door. The top of the map said 'Creekside Apartments', so he guessed that's where he was.

The third floor stairs were boarded off, and he wasn't planning to go there anyway, so he moved down the steps to the first floor. The bottom hallway looked exactly the same as on the second floor. Miles decided to try all the right doors first. The first door he tried opened up into another large apartment room. There was an open window in this one, and cold gray light shined in from outside. The fox turned off his flashlight and looked around.

It looked like any normal apartment room would; the Creekside Apartments seemed to be faring a lot better in the situation than the Woodside Apartments did, and that was okay with him. If he was going to have to look for keys and stuff, it might as well be in a tidy room.

Not an empty one though. He searched the whole room and didn't find anything that could help him. But there was a door in the corner of the room that he hadn't checked yet, might lead to a bedroom or something. He decided to check it out, grabbing the door and opening it.

As Miles stood in the doorway, staring into the new room, his jaw dropped in complete surprise wrapped in a layer of worry.

The bat that he met in the graveyard lay on the floor, looking into a large mirror that took up the whole far wall. She was holding a large, shiny kitchen knife in her gloved hand, holding it a mere inch away from her neck.

The girl's bloodshot eyes looked over to him, staring at him with the knife still above her head. Her voice sounded extremely tired, and even more depressed. "Oh, it's you…"

Miles stood still, frozen in place. He didn't know what to do, but whatever he did next might mean this girl's life. She looked like she was seconds from stabbing herself.

"Um…yeah…" he said stupidly. "I'm Miles."

"Miles?" It wasn't really a question, just an acknowledgement. The girl looked into the knife, seeing her own voided reflection in the shiny blade. "…Rouge."

"Rouge?" Miles echoed. Nice name. "Okay…I don't know what you're planning. But you know, there's always a better way…" He tried to council her.

"Yeah…" Rouge said. "Really…but you're the same as me. It's easier just to run…besides, it's what we deserve…"

'_Huh?_' the fox wondered, stepping back a bit. "I don't understand. I'm not like you."

"Are you afraid?" she asked. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright..." He remembered what she said at the graveyard. "Did you find your mother?"

"Not yet…she's not anywhere…" Rouge said sadly, rolling to her side so she looked into her reflection in the mirror. From where she lay, she could see the fox behind her at the door.

"Did she live in this apartment building?"

"I don't know."

"So all you know is that she lived in this town?"

As if he said something extremely offensive, Rouge bolted up and stared at him angrily. "_What!?_ What did you say!?" She sat in front of him, sounding pissed off and confused. "How do you know that!?"

Miles stepped back again. "I just guessed. 'Cause you're looking here in this town for her. How else would I know?"

Rouge's facial expression and tone of voice did a 180 and she got the depressed look on her face again. "Yeah…"

The fox waited, expecting the bat to say something else. No response came. "Am I right?"

"...I'm so tired…" she said, putting her hand to her baggy eyes and rubbing them.

"If not them, why did you come to this town anyway?" Miles was beginning to wonder what was really going on with her.

Long pause.

"Did you find who you're looking for?" the green-eyed bat asked, completely ignoring his question.

Miles considering countering but decided against it. She didn't seem to want to talk about herself anymore. "No. Not yet." he said sadly. He pulled out a photograph of Sonic, smiling an innocent smile at the camera. He kneeled down and held the photo of the emerald-eyed hedgehog in front of her. "Have you seen this hedgehog? His name is Sonic."

"Is he your lover?" she asked.

Miles bit his lip again. Maybe she really was paying attention when he accidentally foreshadowed their relationship in the graveyard. "Eeer…I…"

"...sorry…I haven't seen anyone here." She shook her head..

"It's okay. He's dead anyway." The orange fox said. "I don't know why I'm looking for him…"

"He's dead?" like before, Miles couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a statement or a question. She curled up into a ball and stared at her feet.

"Don't worry. I'm not crazy. At least, I don't think so…"

'_Oooh, smart one, Miles._' Miles mentally punched himself.

Rouge slowly stumbled upwards, standing on her feet. "I've gotta find my momma…"

"Should I go with you?" Miles asked. "This town's dangerous. I now know what you meant back in the graveyard."

"I'll be okay by myself," she stated. "Besides, I'll only slow you down."

He pointed at the knife, which was still in her hand. "What about that?"

She looked down at the large knife as if she had forgotten it was there in the first place. "Will you hold it for me?"

"Sure."

"I'm afraid of what I might do if I kept it…" She said, holding up the knife for him to take. While she did this, Miles's eyes transfixed on her ungloved left hand, which had scars and scratches all over it, some of them red and puffy.

Miles reached out to grab the knife, but before he could, she yanked it away and swung it in front of him, a look of pure terror on her young face. "_NOOO!!!_"

She swung it and for a second the fox thought she might stab him; he jumped backwards to avoid the attack. The look of terror on her face suddenly changed to a look of guilt and sorrow. "Oh, I…I'm sorry…" her voice was filled with regret. "I've been bad…P-please don't…" She took a step backwards, as if afraid he'd yell at her, and then placed the knife on the counter, running out of the room and leaving the fox alone once again.

Miles just stood there, dumbfounded. After a long silence, he looked at the blade on the table. Picking it up, he looked at it closely; there were tiny spots of crimson on it.

"Rouge…"

Not only was the town weird, but also all the people he'd met so far since he entered the place were acting strange. Whatever happened to Rouge while he was away…it must not have been good. "I hope she's alright…"

There were two other things on the table, another coin and something he had been looking for for a while – a rather large side pack that could be fitted around his waist. He grabbed the side pack and tied it like a belt to his waist, taking out the handgun and putting it in there. Rouge's knife soon followed. While the coin joined the other coins in his right fur-pocket.

"Man…I've gotta get out of here." he said, remembering that one door in the end of the second floor hallway with the 'Exit' sign marked above it. Now he just needed to find a way to get through that door…


	5. Memories of a Shadow

**Sonic Hill 2: DX**

**Chapter 5: Memories of a Shadow**

------****

'**_Three bright coins in five holes be_**

**_At one end sits the seducer of she_**

**_The wind from behind, the woman doth play_**

**_The formless one, null, lies furthest from they_**

**_The old one beside the serpent sits not_**

**_'Tis to the prisoner's left that he doth rot_**' 

****Three coins, he had collected throughout both apartment buildings. One with an old mans face engraved on it, the second with a snake's face, and the third had the body of a man in shackles. In front of him was a safe—the safe on which the poem was written on the back—that had four coin-shaped holes on the front, rather than a normal lock. The puzzle wasn't that hard, at least not once you had what you needed. 

'_Seducer of she – that's the snake, obviously. Adam & Eve…Formless one?…eeer…I'll worry about that one later. Old one sits to the left of the prisoner…_' He put the coins in the left three holes, first the snake, then the old man and the prisoner right after. Nothing happened. '_Okay…gotta change something……formless one? Maybe that means no coin goes there, I guess, so the farthest left hole stays empty…which means…_' 

He pulled the snake coin out of the hole and placed it in the hole next to the now formless one, then moved the others one over too. A click was heard. '_Yes._' He said. The safe was unlocked, and he opened it to see a key inside. The nametag on it: 'Kyne'. 

It must be the key to the apartment with the writing on it, since this was the room that was next to the door like the note said – room 105. He turned and walked out of the room, back to the hallway. 

Instantly the radio turned back on and Miles looked up and down the hall. A single mannequin monster stood there, instantly reminding him of the Pyramid monster in the other apartment. He shook his head, not wanting to think about it. Those mannequin leg monsters seemed a lot deadlier than the straight jacket ones. Miles pulled out the handgun and took aim. Once he was confident he could hit it, he squeezed the trigger. With an extremely loud bang, a fresh hole appeared in one of the monster's left shin, causing it to stumble over and fall.

A bead of sweat formed on the side of his head. He had aimed for the torso, but his aim wasn't as good as he had expected it to be, he guessed. The weapon also had more recoil than he recalled it did when he shot Pyramid Head too.

'_Probably because you were so scared you didn't notice._' His mind told him. '_Now move before it gets up._'

Best not to waste the ammo, it was too far away to be a threat anyway. Miles turned right and opened the stairway door. He took it to the second floor and walked into the hallway. The hall was littered with several straightjacket monsters, but only two of them were blocking his path to the door he wanted to go to. He dispatched them each easily enough with the plank, and ran to the door with the note on it. Slipping the key in and unlocking it, he entered the new room.

Unlike most of the other rooms in the apartment, this room's windows were open. In fact, it even had a balcony. He walked over to it; feeling relaxed to see a decent amount of light for the first time in a while, and looked down both ends of the balcony. The fog was too thick to see the streets below, and no ladders or anything were in sight, but the door to another apartment room was open. Both apartments shared the same balcony.

He walked through the open door, entering a small bedroom. Immediately he noticed the key on the bed. He grabbed it and read the label: '2nd Floor Stairway'.

"Finally!" he exclaimed. Turning, he ran back out of the room and into the hallway once more. The stairway door marked 'EXIT' was directly in front of him. He took one last look at the empty hallway (strange, he could of sworn there were a three more straightjacket monsters here before…), and unlocked the door, opening it and walking into the stairway.

He stopped dead in his tracks, paralyzed with split-second uncontrollable horror. The Pyramid Head was there, raping another monster brutally up the rear—this one a straightjacket one. It let out more strange grunts, which echoed from inside its gigantic helmet. Immediately Miles turned around to try and run out the door again, but it had closed shut right after he walked in. He grabbed the handle and viciously tried to open it, but his efforts were futile. The door was locked now.

'_SHIT!_'

"oooooooo_eeeeeaaaaaaaAAHHHHHH!!!_" the Pyramid Head cried.

Miles turned around and put his back to the door, trying to get as far away from it as possible. Pyramid Head seemed to be groaning in pain, as if the bullet to its eye earlier was causing it a migraine. Dropping the now dead straightjacket monster to the floor, it put its gray hands to its metal helmet and grasped the ends of it tightly, seeming to try and pull the pyramid off. The sharp edges of its helmet cut into its dry flaky skin, causing blood to form at its fingertips. It dropped its hands as if aggravated, then quickly turned to the fox.

'_Nonononononono…_' Miles pushed backwards more into the door, as if trying to disappear into it like he did in the closet earlier.'_Stairway!_' he looked over to the stairs, almost ready to sprint down them. But his heart sank when he saw that the whole stairway was flooded with grimy, almost black water.

He desperately looked around the room, hopelessly trying to find a hole, a ladder, a window, anything. But the room was completely empty of everything but the stairway. He backed farther into the corner, looking back at Pyramid Head, who now grabbed the giant five-and-a-half foot long knife and pulled it out of its resting place on the ground.

'_Oh God what have I gotten myself into!?_' Miles cried, once again quickly surveying the room. While his eyes darted back and forth, Pyramid Head was slowly walking towards him, dragging the heavy knife close behind. The rusty bloodstained blade screeched across the floor, its weight slowing Pyramid Head down. It was only a few feet away now…

Miles, desperate to stop Pyramid Head from getting any closer, raised the plank and chucked it at the monster. The piece of wood just bounced off its long metal helmet, not seeming to phase it at all. He reached into his side pack, grabbed the handgun, and pulled it out. "Stop!" he cried, knowing it wouldn't listen.

And it didn't.

He squeezed the trigger, shooting the deadly bullet into the monster's face. It ricochet off of the rusted helmet and shot out towards the left wall, embedding itself in there forever. His assassin just kept on walking closer and closer.

Pyramid Head stopped and—obviously straining its muscles—lifted the blade above its head. Miles got the picture and practically dived out of the way and to the right, just in time to avoid having the blade slam down upon his weak organic body. The blade stabbed into the door, and it seemed to take a while for Pyramid Head to realize that it hadn't hit the fox. Terrified, the furry jumped up, drawing the gun once again. Pyramid Head tried to pull the blade out of the door, but seemed to be having trouble.

Miles took this short time to attack, aiming down at the back of Pyramid Head's leg and firing. The bullet pierced its flesh, splattering blood onto the floor. The strange monster screamed in agony and spun around, yanking the knife out of the door and swinging it at him in the process. Miles ducked underneath the vertical swing just in time, then spun around and ran to the other corner of the room. While powerful, Pyramid Head was very slow when carrying that overly heavy weapon around. Aiming the gun at its other leg, Miles opened fire once again, and then again and again.

With each bullet entering its body, Pyramid Head seemed to move slower. Until suddenly, it swung the knife upwards horizontally; the tip didn't hit Miles's hand but instead the gun, sending his only trusty weapon flying into the air. It landed on the ground in the corner, automatically firing another round. The bullet ricochet off of the monsters head and hit the wall not too far away from Miles. Instinctively, Miles jumped away from where the bullet landed, managing to escape a downward swing from Pyramid Head's knife in the process.

On the floor, he looked up and almost screamed as Pyramid Head slowly turned towards him. He began to back away as fast as he could without getting up, knowing very well that in the time it took to get up he would surely be killed. His mind was too clouded with fear for him to realize that that would happen anyway if he stayed down on the floor. For each foot he moved backwards, Pyramid Head moved two; and in seconds the monster was standing right over him, its grayed fingernails clenching the grip of the knife tightly.

He looked to his left and saw the plank lying on the floor only a few feet away. Miles quickly grabbed it and smashed the wood into Pyramid Head's leg. The nail dug into the meat, causing the monster to twitch and almost stumble. But it stayed erect, staring down upon the fox who knew his seconds were numbered.

'_No…_'

As if to deny his pleas, Pyramid Head slowly raised the knife above both of them, about to bring it down on the fox's measly body and end his miserable life.

'_NO!_'

_Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaooooooooooooooohhh!_

Sirens.

Pyramid Head suddenly jerked, looking around quickly as if it were trying to figure out where that loud noise was coming from. Miles did the same. It sounded like it could only be a few blocks away. The large monster lowered the sword back to its side, turning and walking away like it had lost interest in its kill.

The grimy almost-black water was still flooding the whole first floor of the stairwell, but that didn't stop Pyramid Head from nonchalantly walking down the steps, sinking into the liquid and taking oversized knife with it. It clunked against each step as it fell, splashed, and continued weaving through the water like a tired dog being dragged by its master. Miles's jaw dropped in shock. Somehow, the sirens had spared his life.

"…"

A strange startlingly loud sound then echoed throughout the room. It sounded like the water was draining away or something extremely quickly. Getting up, Miles shakily walked over to the stairs and shined his flashlight down to see it really was, for a fact. The stairs was already half empty now.

Seconds later, all the water was gone and the sirens shut off, leaving Miles alone in the quiet darkness, staring down into the now only wet set of stairs.

"…what was _that _all about?" he asked, his voice sounding higher than usual. He really didn't expect to be alive anymore right now, but he wasn't complaining.

Well, he didn't _think _he was at least.

---_Later…_---

It was nice and cool outside.

Miles's fur was still slightly damp from all the sweat he'd spilled out of his body, and it had created a rather pleasant effect on him in the town's cool outdoors. It cooled him down a lot, and even though he knew soon he'd be longing for warmth once again, he was enjoying it while it lasted. Smiling, he breathed in some nice cold air. It was good to be back outside.

Having been in the darkness of the apartments for so long, the gray-white fog had seemed rather bright for his eyes when he walked out the back exit door from the stairwell. Now he was moving up the alleyway, which would lead to Doggie Street soon, according to the map. All he'd have to do was continue forward till he spotted the road.

His ears perked up as he heard a voice coming from not too far away. He couldn't tell what she was saying, but she sounded almost like she was singing. He broke into a sprint—not having to worry about carrying the plank anymore since it had broken in half on Pyramid Head's leg—and began to wonder whom it was as the voice came closer and closer.

He stopped.

"_Ring around the rooosy. Pocket full of pooosey. Aaaashes, aaaashes. We aaall faaall down…_"

Sitting atop an eight-foot brick wall with colorful child-like paintings on it was the little girl, the same one he'd seen in the apartments. She was waving her pink-furred legs back and forth in a very childlike manner—which would be expected considering her age—and singing a song cheerfully.

Miles's eyes narrowed in anger. "It was _you_, wasn't it!?" he shouted, pointing accusingly. The girl stopped singing and looked at him, surprised. "You're the one that stepped on my hand!"

Her face, which held on it some very discreet freckles, scrunched up immaturely. The pink headband holding her quills down lowered a bit too, as a result of her narrowed eyes. "I dunno, maybe I did!" she said, voice filled with distain.

Miles couldn't believe it. There was actually a girl casually hanging out in this insane place still teetering on the edge of puberty He spoke, his own voice mixed with anger and worry. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this anyway!?"

She raised an eyebrow, looking down on him like he had asked her an extremely stupid question. "Huh? Are you _blind_ or something?"

The fox's eyes narrowed even more. This girl was obviously a misbehaved brat.

There was a piece of paper in her gloved hand. From where he stood, Miles could see tiny little ant-like words resting across its floppy grayed surface. He pointed at it. "What's that letter?"

"None of your business!" she shouted angrily. "You didn't love Sonic anyway!"

With that, she spun around and jumped off the wall, landing on the opposite side of the brick as Miles.

"Wait!" he cried out. "How did you know Sonic's name!?"

No reply. He wasn't even sure if she was there anymore.

'_What the hell?_' he asked himself. '_She knows his name? How? That doesn't make any sense…_'

Sighing, he looked back up the alleyway. The sidewalk was visible, disappearing into the fog right where the road should be. It looked like the edge of the Earth, almost. As if whoever stepped off the safety of the white-cemented sidewalk would fall forever through the white nothingness to their untimely death.

'_Rosewater Park…_'

It should only be across the street. And that's when it hit him; he made it! Sonic might be there…

He began to sprint down the alleyway, crossing the wide street ('_Which looked so much like a bottomless pit…_' Relief was what he felt, knowing that stupid idea was false.) through the fog and stopping when he got to the other end. He ran West, getting closer and closer until he finally stopped at the entrance. Just like he'd remembered it, but a little more worn and dirty, was the park's front sign.

"I'm here…" he said, his voice suddenly filled with a hint of joy. "Sonikku…"

His body tense, he slowly began to walk into the park. Each step getting closer and closer to his goal…and as he continued moving deeper into the place, memories came flooding back. Memories of how many hours he and Sonic had spent together here…

------

_Light blue, the sky was that day. The sun was shining bright and vividly; it was yet another calm day in the peaceful town known as Sonic Hill. Tourists came by as usual, just walking through the park to take some photos of the monuments here and there, and obviously, the lake. The whole park—measuring at only about an eighth of a mile long and wide—was right on the shoreline of Lake Toluca. In fact, the most northern portion of the park was built completely over the water, kind of like a boardwalk, but a lot prettier. _

_From where the park was, one had a perfect view of the lake and some of North Sonic Hill. And boy was it beautiful. The sun itself reflected off of the lakes clear blue waters; at sunset especially, it was magnificent. The town was a major tourist attraction, not for much anything else than how utterly beautiful it was._

_In the more Southern part of the park was the playground, where children usually liked to have a fun time. On that day though, no children were on the swing set, because Sonic and Tails were already occupying it._

_Laughing, they were. Laughing just for the sake of laughing. It might seem like a ridiculous thing for two boys in their sophomore year of responsible adulthood to do, but they didn't care. They had already gone through enough hard times against society together to not care what the others thought of them. All that mattered was that they were happy._

------

Now though, that same swing set was old and rusted. One of the swings was only hanging on one chain, making the other one which was still in good condition look out of place and lonely. Just like Miles himself was. The swings had been in such good condition four years ago, and that reminded him of how much the town itself too had changed since he came here. It might as well have been in a whole other universe, because even the familiar parts of town didn't look much like he remembered. But that wasn't his top concern at all. Most importantly he wanted Sonic.

'_Pl__ease be here…_' he wished, shaking his head and continuing his walk to the observation deck. If Sonic were really in this park, he'd be there. '_I've come all this way…Please…_'

He didn't know what he'd do if the hedgehog weren't here, but he wasn't going to find out just dwelling over the question. Success or failure wouldn't rear its head until he forced it to. His walk turned into another run, passing by several monuments, greenery, benches, ect. until he finally reached the short stairs. He hopped up the steps two by two, suddenly being overcome by the undying need to see Sonic's face again.

'_Sonic will be there and I'll fall into his arms and we'll be together again and everything will be okay…_' Miles stopped at the top of the six step stairs, panting lightly from the several sprints he had just done. '_Sonikku…_'

The thick fog continued to do what it did best and coated the whole deck. It seemed to be heaviest of all right here. Waves hitting the wooden pillars below were heard, and the strange but relaxing smell of the lake's water filled his nostrils. Breathing in one long, deep breath, Miles exhaled and turned left. Sonic shouldn't be more than a hundred feet away.

His footsteps against the rock floor joined the waves in his ears. Butterflies inhabited his stomach, fluttering around in their beautiful but meaningless existence. Through his gloves, his palms were sweating vigorously. It was time.

Through the fog, the silhouette of his hedgehog came into view.

The fox's heart jumped for joy, and he began to run towards him, his mouth curled into a huge smile. Sonic was leaning on the railing, looking down at the water through the fog just like he imagined he would. Miles couldn't believe it, but he was there; it was really true!

"Sonic?" he asked, sounding surprisingly calm while he reached out to touch the hedgehog like he wasn't sure he'd stay there.

The hedgehog turned around and faced him, and his world of hope shattered around him. Burning away and leaving behind ashes of discontent sadness.

It wasn't Sonic.

"No…you're not…" Miles recoiled, his whole body feeling cold and empty once more.

All the fur on the hedgehog's body was jet black, minus a small white patch on his chest which contrasted with the rest of his body, and some stripes of red on his arms, legs, and spikes which—unlike Sonic's—bent awkwardly upwards. His large eyes were crimson red, making him appear almost menacing. Around his wrists were gold black and red bracelets, which served as the bridge between his arm and gloved hand. Covering his feet were very strange looking white and red boots. On his pale light-skinned face, his mouth held a devilish grin.

"Do I look like your boyfriend?" the hedgehog asked in a deep, baritone voice.

"Uh…" Miles almost took another step back. The question hit home exactly. "I…how'd you…yeah, my late boyfriend. But he died…" 

Miles looked down, as if just saying it out loud made it seem any truer than keeping it bottled up. Looking back up at the hedgehog, he really began to notice how startlingly similar he looked to Sonic. In fact, had his appearance been altered slightly, he might have still believed he was his late lover. No wonder he had confused him for the other hedgehog a minute ago.

"I can't believe it!" Miles exclaimed, staring dumbfounded at the black hedgehog. "You could be his _twin_! Your face…your build…only your fur and spikes are different…"

The crimson-eyed furry took a step closer to him, his devilish grin growing wider. "My name is Shadow. I don't look like a ghost, do I?"

Before Miles could do anything, Shadow grabbed onto his hand and placed it on the soft white patch of fur surrounded by blackness on his well-muscled chest. "See? Feel; I'm warm."

Miles pulled his hand away like Shadow's fur was burning steel. "I'm Miles," he said. "You're…really _not_ Sonic…" He stated the obvious, as if finally accepting it.

"I told you, I'm _Shadow_." the attractive male said in a way comparable to how adults speak to young children, almost seeming to laugh at how naïve Miles was.

Miles put his hand to his head, rubbing it through his scalp fur once again, trying to take in the whole event. It was like someone was playing a real sick joke on him. Not only was Sonic not here, but the furry that _was _looked a hell of a lot like him.

"I'm sorry…I…I was confused…" Miles said, turning and beginning to walk away, his heart wrenching with disappointment.

"Where are you going?" Shadow asked.

Miles stopped, not even really noticing that he was leaving. He turned back to Shadow. "I'm looking for Sonic. Have you seen him?"

"Didn't you say he died?"

Miles looked down to the floor; he knew the hedgehog was going to think he was crazy. "Oh yeah…three years ago…" he said. "But I got a letter from him! He said…he said he was waiting in our 'special place'…"

"And that's here?" Shadow actually sounded really concerned on the matter. "Sorry, but I haven't seen him. Is this your only 'special place'?" 

Miles looked up, contemplating where else it might be…

------

_Through the eyes of a shaky black and white camera, Miles looks up to see Sonic's figure leaning on a cupboard a few feet away. The lighting makes the hedgehog to look almost like a shadow of himself. Sonic looks into the lense. Though it's hard to tell through the darkness, he is smiling. He turns around and looks out the window, where a wonderful view of a lake from very high up is seen._

_Static._

------

"Well, there's the hotel too, I guess…" Miles said, surprised he hadn't even thought of the idea yet. "The one on the other end of the lake. I wonder if it's still there…"

"The Lakeview Hotel? Yeah. It's still there." Shadow grinned. "So that was your 'special place' huh? I'll _bet_ it was…"

Offended, Miles glared and turned to continue walking away. "Yeah right."

Shadow's heart panged with regret at the nasty comment, though Miles did not know it. He realized he had seriously pissed the fox off and ran up to his side. "Don't get mad! It was just a joke! And it's not that way." the hedgehog pointed in the opposite direction; North West. "It's this way."

"Thanks." Miles said as he did an 180º turn and started walking where Shadow pointed. After only walking a few feet, he noticed the hedgehog was following right behind him. "You're coming with me?"

"You where just going to _leave_ me?" Shadow sounded equally offended.

"No, but—"

"With all these monsters around here?"

"No I just—" 

"I'm all alone here..." Shadow said, his tone changing to very depressed. He leaned on the railing sadly, his back facing the lake. "Everyone else is gone…I need some company anyway. I'm so lonely…" he trailed off. After a pause, he got off the railing—standing up straight—and began to move closer to Miles. "I _look_ like Sonic, don't I?"

"Yeah."

"Well, let me help you out. You'll need company if you plan to find him and get out of here."

Miles continued walking. "Don't be ridiculous. I was fine on my own."

The hedgehog followed right behind him. "So can I come with you?"

"Yeah, okay." Miles said coldly. He felt the hedgehog grab his hand, and he quickly yanked it away, looking annoyed. "What are you doing?"

"You'll protect me, right?"

Considering how dark and masculine this hedgehog appeared, he sure seemed rather feminine. Maybe feminine wasn't the right word for it though – after all, it was a very scary place to be alone in. Miles knew that all too well. "Um…sure. Whatever."

"You won't run too far ahead?"

"I won't."

Shadow smiled, a rather sincere smile this time. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Things just seemed to get weirder and weirder. With that in mind, Miles continued to walk out of the park, Shadow following close behind. Together, they disappeared into the fog once more.


	6. Suspended Memories

**Sonic Hill 2: DX**

**Chapter 6: Suspended Memories**

------

"Damn."

"Sheesh, there sure are a lot of road blocks in this town."

"You said it." 

No one seemed to cut him any slack. Doggie Avenue curved Northwest shortly past the Rosewater Park, and it eventually led past the docks and the local museum, over a bridge, and curved all the way along the west side of the lake until it reached to North Sonic Hill. The Lakeview Hotel was—obviously—right on the shoreline at the bottom of the North part of town. It would be the first large building Doggie Avenue would have passed after leading out of South Sonic Hill. It would have, had the bridge not been destroyed completely.

Miles and Shadow stood on the very edge of the cement, leaning over the cemented guard blocks and looking down at the river about twenty feet below. How disappointing; they had jogged all that way with their hopes high of getting to that hotel, and the stupid bridge had to break some time probably long before they even got there. All they had ended up doing was wasting some ammo and energy on the mannequin and straightjacket monsters they had passed by on the way here.

"Now what do we do?" Shadow asked the crestfallen fox.

"I don't know." Miles sighed, putting his finger in his lip and biting it. "Man, how are we going to get across that lake? Ugh. If only we could fly, or teleport, or…something."

Sighing too, Shadow looked around, trying to see if there was any place—maybe a path or something, he didn't know—to go, and a gasp escaped his lips. "Miles!"

"What?" the fox turned to where he was looking.

Another mangled corpse, this one of a middle-aged male pelican, not too far away. Miles wondered how they hadn't managed to see or smell it before. The fox covered his mouth instinctively, and felt the hedgehog grab onto his arm.

"Ugh. I've seen enough dead bodies for one lifetime." Miles cried, turning to walk back down Doggie Avenue.

"Wait, there's something there!" Shadow said, grabbing onto the fox's arm a second time and pulling him back. Miles took a closer look at the body and noticed a large sheet of paper next to it.

'_More notes from another person?_' Miles took a step closer to the corpse, about to examine the paper, when suddenly the radio static began again. He looked down Doggie Avenue, seeing nothing but endless fog still. "Shadow, you check out the body. I gotta take care of that monster."

"Right."

Drawing the handgun, Miles crept down the road, quickly disappearing into the fog. Shadow walked over to the corpse, grimacing at it, and picked up the paper. It seemed be a map of South Vale, but he noticed that there was red markings in a few places in the northern end of the map. It wasn't blood – looked like the guy was using a red felt tipped pen. Anyway, there was also a circle around one of the South Vale buildings not too far away from where they were standing; Pete's Bowl-O-Rama, the local bowling alley.

The slightly reassuring yet discomforting sound of a handgun firing not too far away alerted Shadow that Miles must have found the monster. Shortly after that, Miles returned. "Bad news; no more ammo left."

"Great." Shadow looked down at the map. "Do you think this guy came down here from North Sonic Hill?"

Miles looked at the map from the side, noting how the pelican looked like he had been running towards where they came from before he had been assaulted. "Maybe."

"Do you think there's something in Pete's Bowl-O-Rama?" Shadow pointed at where it was circled.

"Might as well check it out; we're not getting anything done standing here."

The black hedgehog nodded. "Yeah."

With that, Miles turned and began to jog back down Doggie Avenue, Shadow following close behind. They heard nothing but the sound of their own footsteps across the pavement (along with their light panting, after a while) and the occasional burst of static from the radio. The percentage of the time the radio went off the monsters must have been too far into the fog for them to see, and they didn't have a problem with that. With no melee weapons or ammo, they were basically screwed if they ran into trouble.

A few minutes later, they finally reached the fork in the road. The left road continued as Doggie Avenue, but the right one—Audra Street—led farther South into town. Pete's Bowl-O-Rama should be to their right, on the corner, but there should be a gas station across the street from that, which was the center of the fork. They decided to check out the gas station first for supplies.

_-BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!_

The two jumped in unison when unexpectedly the horn of a car very close erupted into a deafening howl, scaring the silence away with its loud screams. Miles's eyes darted to where it was coming from, running up to the noise. He stopped when he saw a car next to some fallen gas pumps with a long thin pipe jabbed into its hood like someone stabbed it. Shadow ran past him and looked into the car's window to see no one was inside pressing any horn, and the keys weren't even in the ignition. Miles grabbed onto the pipe and—straining his muscles—ripped it out of the hood. The loud noise stopped suddenly, and the silence returned to the area.

"Jeez…" Shadow said. "What the hell was up with that?"

"I dunno." Miles gave a lopsided smile. "But it looks to me like we got a new thing to fend off those monsters with."

He held the three-foot-long steel pipe in his hand, waving it around unprofessionally like a sword. It was a lot more impressive than the plank would ever be, and he sure felt a lot safer with its weight joining the handguns'. "Any keys?"

"Nope."

"Didn't think so."

Miles turned to walk back to the shop when the static started again. Alarmed, Miles clenched the pipe in his hands, looking around for whatever was coming towards him. He stayed like this for a few seconds before Shadow exclaimed. "Miles, three-o-clock!"

He looked in that direction to see two straightjacket monsters walking towards him. Raising the pipe, Miles let out a battle cry and charged at them. Immediately when he got to them, he swung the pipe vertically, hitting and knocking one of them over. The other only stood up a second longer before the fox smashed its brains in with the edge of the pipe. The one still on the ground—with an abrupt burst of speed—began crawling away before the fox could hit it. It's "life" only lasted a second longer than it would have had it stayed, for Shadow jumped in its path and kicked it hard in the head. The speed at which the monster was moving, combined with the force Shadow kicked it with, resulted in a broken neck on one now dead monster.

Miles looked at the hedgehog, smiling. "Thanks Shadow."

"No problem. Let's get to that store place and see if we can find anything useful."

Nodding, Miles turned and finally began to walk to the small building not too far away from the gas pumps.

---_Later…_---

Shadow's opened the refrigerator door, grabbing a bottle of soda out and closing it. Soda and the mini bag of chips in hand, he placed them on the counter right next to Miles. Hungry, the two furries where snacking on the food in the gas station, since obviously no one was there to make them pay for it. Miles was sitting at the counter eating Doritos while Shadow was walking around grabbing more food.

"Miles, do you really think Sonic's here?" Shadow asked while keeping his gaze on the food in front of him.

"I'm not sure." Miles said, and he really wasn't. The radio transmission and the letter so far was the only proof he'd found, and even those two weren't fully valid. He considered whether or not he should say what he wanted to next, and decided to say it. "I've never been sure of anything since he died. It's been so weird. Dead people can't write letters………"

"Yeah…"

Hopping off his chair, Miles walked over to the window, looking outside. "I must sound crazy."

"Nah. It's understandable. If you're crazy, then I guess I'm crazy too."

Miles tried to hold back a laugh. Not exactly the usual way of comforting someone, but it did make him feel a bit less tense.

It was at that moment he realized how glad he was that the hedgehog was around. He'd only known him for about an hour, but he was already enjoying Shadow's company greatly. It sure beat having to run around the place alone. Now not only did he have someone to help him against all the monsters and puzzles, but also someone to talk to. Something about his presence made the situation seem a lot more bearable, and Miles had no problem with that.

"Miles."

The fox was broken from his reverie as Shadow's deep baritone voice spoke. Looking over to him, Miles asked "What?"

There was a long pause, but Shadow spoke, seeming to try to find the right words to say what he was wondering. "You said that Sonic died…but you never told me; how _did _he die?"

Surprised, Miles placed his hands on the counter and looked downwards, his eyes not really focusing on anything. No one had asked him that before. Everyone who had bothered to talk to him after Sonic's death either knew already, or just didn't bother to ask.

Taking in a deep breath, Miles spoke. "I don't know what the disease was…no one seemed to know, not even any of the professionals…"

Shadow instantly knew what he was about to hear next wouldn't be good. His string of sympathy began to roll into a ball of pity.

"It was incurable." Miles spoke hopelessly. "If it ever _was_, by the time anyone noticed something was wrong it was far too late. Those arrogant doctors that claim to know the cure to everything were clueless on how to save him. But the hospital managed to keep him alive for about eight or nine months. Everyone knew it was over for him though. No one could save him."

"Oh Miles…"

"That was three years ago…" Miles's face twitched, and he was beginning to feel that odd but familiar feeling at the bottom of his eyes. Years of tears, and he still wasn't over the whole thing – he didn't think he ever would be. He shut his eyes and held the tears back. He wasn't going to begin crying like a baby in front of the other adult. Eventually the feeling faded away, and he felt fine again. As fine as he could, at least.

"I'm sorry that happened to you two." Shadow said sincerely. He bit his lip, trying to think of what else to say. Before he could, Miles continued to carry on the conversation instead.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

Miles looked over to him. The question that had hidden in shadows of his mind had finally come back out of its hiding place. He was surprised he hadn't asked this already. "Do you live here?"

"I don't know." Shadow frowned. "Maybe…I just sort of woke up here, you could say."

"You don't remember?"

He nodded. "I've got amnesia or…something. I think it may have been from something that happened before today; something that happened to the citizens of this town…all I remember is waking up not too far away from where we are now. You're the first person I've met since."

The fox sighed. That sort of figured. It seemed everyone there either didn't live there, didn't know what was going on, or didn't want to talk to him.

Miles didn't seem to know how to reply to that, so Shadow decided to switch gears a bit. "I don't know much about this Sonic guy, but he sounds very nice."

"He was." Miles grabbed onto the bag of Doritos and stuffed a few more chips into his mouth, munching on them and enjoying their addictive taste. "The nicest guy I ever met…"

Shadow frowned again. It seemed like bad things always happened to good people. From what little he remembered about the world, he knew that. "I really hope you can find him."

"Yeah…" Miles took a sip from another bottle of water. "Me too."

A few bags of various snack foods later, the two partially satisfied furries walked out of the gas station and headed for the bowling alley.


	7. Off Track

**Sonic Hill 2: DX**

**Chapter 7: Off Track**

------

Pete's Bowl-O-Rama looked no different than any normal bowling alley; something that Miles found comfort in noticing. Like with most of the other buildings, there were two or three cars in the small parking lot, like not many people were there before the town became the abandoned shadow of what it used to be.

'_I wonder if the town changed early in the morning…_' Miles considered. '_That would explain why there aren't that many cars out…_'

Thinking about how many scenarios could have occurred in this town didn't seem to be answering any questions. Going into the bowling alley might though, if that pelican was headed here. Miles grasped the metal handle of one of the glass doors. Before he pulled it, Shadow spoke up, saying something he really didn't expect to hear.

"You know what, I'll stay out here." Shadow said, crossing his arms and giving the fox childish frown. "I _hate_ bowling."

Miles sweatdropped, flabbergasted the hedgehog didn't want to come because of his grudge against the 'sport'. The look he gave Shadow was unfamiliar to the hedgehog, but Sonic would have known that as his self-titled 'Tails's Infamous WTF Look'. "I'm not going in to _play_, you know." He stated matter-of-factly.

"I know." Shadow said, looking around what he could see of the parking lot. "I just can't stand those places. I'll wait out here. Hurry back, okay?"

Sighing, Miles handed him the steel pipe and opened the door. "Fine. Just give me a call if any monsters decide to come by you can't handle, alright?"

He half-expected Shadow to be angry, but he wasn't. The hedgehog nodded, leaning on the wall and looking around casually – which clashed humorously with the fact he was carrying a large slightly bloody pipe in his hand. Shaking his head, Miles walked into the bowling alley.

The first room was trashed – tables and other furniture were broken and lying on the floor, like someone had ran into the room with a large mallet and smashed everything in sight. The room was rather dark, but the light coming from the fog outside brightened up the place enough to see that there was another set of double doors—this one made out of thin wood—to his left. Since he didn't even want to bother looking around the remains of the pigsty, Miles walked over to the doors and pushed them open into what looked like a restaurant area.

"So what did you do? Robbery? Murder?"

Miles's ears perked up. That voice sounded very familiar, and it seemed to be coming from the other room. Shortly after the first one, another familiar voice responded.

"Nah, nothing like that."

'_Hey that's…_' Miles slowly crept over to the door at the other end of the room, where a conversation was in progression in the next room over. He put his ear to the door and listened quietly.

-----

"Ha! You're just a gutless fatso!" the pink hedgehog exclaimed, glaring at the fat bald man next to her.

It was in the main part of the bowling alley where the two were sitting at one of the dining booths meant for people to eat in – and it was being put to good use. Eggman sat in the booth, munching on a new hot slice of pizza he had managed to find and heat up. His large egg-shaped tummy—that which had been the cause of a lot of the misery in his life—was craving for something fresh and tasty. It was quite satisfied now as the man gulped down his fourth slice of pizza within the past three minutes.

While his tummy was happy, the man himself was being accompanied—or _pestered _would be more like it, he partially felt—by the pink hedgehog he had ran into in his trek through town. She sat on the table right next to him, eating her own respective slice. She felt she deserved it – after all she _was _the one who had persuaded him to give her a piece with her lovely social skills. Had she not done that he may have possibly gotten too much to eat for himself.

"Ugh, don't diss me." Eggman said, slightly annoyed and showing it.

She put the crust down next to the other slice of crust she had left behind—she _hated _pizza crust—and then crossed her arms, looking away from him. "I thought you said the cops where after you."

The man took a bite of his fifth slice, alerting her with his mouth full that he wasn't as guilty as she thought. "I just ran because the cops where chasing me."

"But if you did something bad, why don't you just say you sorry?" the little girl asked questionably. After a short silence, she looked down at her pink-and-red boots she had gotten from one of her 'friends' at the home. "Well…I guess I run away lots too…" She said with a slight bit of sadness showing for once.

"It's no good." Eggman sighed, finishing off what was left of the fifth slice of warm cheesy goodness. "They just wouldn't listen. Nobody will _ever_ believe me…"

-----

"Did you find the hedgehog you where looking for?" Miles heard Eggman's voice ask. A chill ran down his spine. What he was thinking at that moment was quickly confirmed. "What's his name…Sonic?"

'_Jesus, what do these guys know about Sonic?_' Miles questioned. Knowing he was involved with the conversation somehow, he pushed the double doors open and walked into the large open room.To his surprise, while Eggman was sitting at the booth, the little girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Eggman!" he called, walking up to him.

"Oh…um…yosh?" Eggman quickly put the pizza down and give the fox this look that reminded him of when he had been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar way back when.

"Miles. We met in the apartment building." He formally reintroduced himself.

"Yeah I remember." Eggman said. As if saying that had made it okay to eat again, he picked the food back up and continued wolfing it down.

Miles couldn't help but get the impression that he wasn't being acknowledged as well as he should be. "Are you alone here?"

"Uh…" the older man almost seemed to consider whether he should answer the question truthfully or not. Finally: "No."

And that's when a sharp pain suddenly shot through Miles's foot. "_Ooow, shit!_" he cried, jumping up and rubbing his aching limb. Looking down, he saw a large green bowling ball on the floor.

Both Miles and Eggman turned to the far wall in sync; staring at who stood right next to the doors from which the fox came less than a minute ago.

The pink hedgehog held a large childish grin on her obnoxious face. "Bye bye!" she waved cheerfully, right before she turned and ran out of the room.

Miles narrowed his eyes. "Hey! Come back!" he was about to run right after her, but stopped himself and looked at the other man, who still sat at the table. "Eggman! Let's go after her!"

"Huh?" Eggman asked stupidly. "Amy? But why?"

"Amy? Is that her name?" 

Eggman shrugged-"That's what she said."-and took yet another large chunk out of the pizza. He didn't seem to have intention of getting out of the chair anytime soon.

"This town is full of monsters!" Miles cried, shocked at how careless the man was. "How can you just sit there and eat _pizza_!?"

"Like this." Eggman said. He stood up, then sat back down, continuing to chew on the cheesy treat. 

"…" Miles fell over.

Through his thick glasses, Eggman rolled his eyes. "She said she'd be fine by herself anyway. Said a fatso like me would only slow her down."

Miles threw his arms up in the air. It was confirmed now: this whole town was crazy. "Ugh! Screw you, man!"

Annoyed, he ran out of the bowling alley, leaving the large man alone with his meal.

-----

Just as he stepped outside, Miles was confronted by Shadow, who ran from around the corner and stopped in front of him, panting slightly.

"Are you okay?" the fox asked.

Shadow nodded, catching his breath.

Time to get to business. "Did you see the young girl here?"

"Yeah!" Shadow pointed to where he had just run back from. "Man, can she move! She was too fast for me! I tried to catch up. Sorry." He gave a half-frown at his pathetically failed attempt to catch the girl. Then he asked, as if he was shocked his ally hadn't done it yet: "Aren't you gonna go after her?"

Miles nodded. "Yeah! Come on!" he sprinted towards where Shadow pointed, stopping when he didn't hear the hedgehog's footsteps behind him. He looked at Shadow, who was leaning downwards a bit, rubbing his knee with one hand and holding the steel pipe with the other. "What's wrong?"

"Bashed my knee on that stupid brick wall not too far from here." Shadow muttered, rubbing his knee. "Hurts like a mother."

"Need any help?"

"Please."

Miles grabbed Shadow's hand and the two ran through the bowling alley's parking lot, eventually reaching an area behind the place. There was an open gated fence that led into an alleyway. Together they ran through the open gap and into the dank alley.

At first he thought the alley was a dead end, but upon closer inspection he noticed that there was an extremely small space between the two buildings that led to another street – too small for an adult of even their size to enter, but maybe big enough for a young child to squeeze through.

"She went though there." Shadow said.

What luck. "Damn. Is there any other way?"

Shadow pointed to a door only a few feet behind them, which appeared to be the back door of the building that had dead-ended the alley for adults. Miles noticed the sign above it, made out of what used to be some multicolored light letters, but quite a few of the letters were either broken or completely missing now.

'**S-n---w Gay B-r**' 

Miles raised an eyebrow. Oh the irony.

He grabbed the door handle and was displeased when it didn't fully turn. He took a closer look and noticed that there were three small locks keeping the door from opening. "No good. It's locked."

Shadow stepped forward and pushed Miles away from the door. He reached behind his head and pulled a key out of his spikes, sliding it into the top lock and turning. The lock opened. Then he kneeled down and pulled a second key out of his shoe, putting that one into the middle lock and turning. Like the one before it, the lock opened. Finally, he moved in front of the fox, putting his back to him. Miles couldn't see what was going on, but Shadow slowly moved his hand down to his lower region, letting out a low moan. When his hand came back into view, there was a key there. Like with the other three, Shadow slid it into the lock and turned. With all three unlocked, the door opened. Shadow turned to Miles and grinned.

Miles sweatdropped big time. Shadow gestured towards the door, signaling him to walk in first. He did just that; moving in and looking around the dimly lit bar.

The place was very gritty and dirty, but other than that it was in pretty good shape. There were many tables, booths, and chairs littered all over the place, along with two doors in the opposite corner of the room. The main bar part was littered with bottles – a few of them half-empty. There was even a stage to their immediate right, which had short runway that ended at a single pole that led from the floor to the ceiling.

"I think I used to work here." Miles heard Shadow say from behind him.

Somehow, Miles wasn't very surprised. "Great." He said monotonously.

Shadow glanced at the pole, grinning madly. "Want me to put on a show?"

Miles turned to him and gave him that 'wtf' look Sonic used to guiltlessly laugh at a second time. The hedgehog chuckled nervously and held out his hands. "Just kiddin' just kiddin'."

Rolling his eyes, Miles looked back to the door on the opposite end of the room. As interesting to him as the place was (and strange; he was surprised he and Sonic never heard of it when they were there), they didn't have any time to waste. That girl was going to get away soon if they didn't catch up now, and she might know something about Sonic – it was dangerous for her to be walking around alone anyway.

He reached the door and pulled it open, looking through endless fog down an alleyway. Once they got to the end, they looked down the road. The fog was strangely clearer here, almost _normal _looking for fog. This road—Audra Street—led Northwards back up to Doggie Street, and South down to a road he hadn't been to yet. Miles looked at the chain link fence that blocked them off from Doggie Street, trying to figure out where that girl went.

"Look!" Shadow grabbed his shoulder and pointed down the street, where Amy's small figure could be seen running down the sidewalk through the sheet of fog. "There she is!"

"After her!" Miles shouted. The duo broke into a sprint after the girl, gaining on her fast. They probably would have caught her if she had continued running down the street, but instead she made a right turn and ran up the short steps that led to the front doors of a very large building. She opened them both at the same time and ran in.

Miles and Shadow stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at what they could see of the massive three-story building. Above the door, in large steel letters, were words that they both regretted having to read.

'**Brook Haven Mental Hospital**' 

Miles shook his head in disbelief, his eyes wide. "Aw _hell no_!"

"Lets go." Shadow said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up the stairs. Miles was reluctant to enter the place, but he knew he had no choice. As much as he hated it, they had to find Amy. Hot in pursuit of the little girl, the two furries opened the double doors wide and ran into the building.

Little did they know that they wouldn't be leaving for a very, _very_ long time.


	8. Brook Haven Mental Hospital

****

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 8: Brook Haven Mental Hospital

------

Miles closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and exhaling. He hated hospitals; a lot. A whole building full of the sick, dying, injured, and impaired. Just the thought of those places, and how little they had done to help Sonic, had made him want to…he didn't even know. Bad memories seemed to be manufactured in places like this. This particular hospital was, obviously, different from the usual ones, but that was no exception.

"You okay?"

Miles noticed the concerned look in Shadows eyes, and nodded. "I just hate places like this. That's all."

Shadow nodded back, dropping the subject before it could even begin to grow. Miles had no problem with that at the moment. He pulled the flashlight out of his side pack and clipped it back onto his chest fur—it seemed to hold pretty well. Turning the brightness up, the two noticed there was a sign at the front desk of the entrance corridor.

'**Brook Haven Hospi-al offers first class care, j-st in case you happen to get into trouble here, with an old fashioned to--h. The relaxing atmospher- and quiet surroundings make for a great place to r-cover from ailme--s of all sorts. Long term c--- is offered for lo—d ones ha--ng t----le fitt--- i-to re-----r -------.**'

A few words were too hard to read, but Miles got the picture. "What a nice way of candy coating it."

The front hallway itself was rather confusing in the dark, but they figured it out. It went around a medium-sized square set of rooms in the middle of the place, and branched off into various different hallways too. There was a map on the desk, right next to the sign. Shadow picked it up and the two stared at the hospital's layout.

"Great." Miles groaned in frustration. The place was huge, filled with hallways and doors and more rooms than they could count. Finding Amy was going to be harder than they thought.

Got to start somewhere. The fox and the hedgehog walked around the counter and to the door behind it—which was for the square room in the middle of the place. They opened it, illuminating the small room with Miles's flashlight. Looks like the square area was more than one room. Looking down at the map, Miles read 'Document Room' in the spot that they should be standing in right now. And boy, there were plenty of documents there. Tons of filing cabinets and papers filled the small claustrophobic space, each a report or something concerning the mental patients or the hospital itself. Miles began to worry how many patients there must have been here before all hell broke loose.

There was an open book on the desk, separate from the others, which caught their attention. It was typed up, but it looked like someone had spilled coffee or something over the paper. Many of the letters were smeared and the whole thing had a dark stain on it.

'**The p-tential for t-is illness exists -n all p--ple and, un-er the right ci-----ances, a lif--orm woul- be dr--en, l-ke him, to "t-e o-her -ide." The "ot--- --de" perhaps may not be the best way to phrase it. After all, there -- no w-ll betw--- h-re a-d the-e. I- li-s on t-e bord-rs where reality and --n-asy int-rsect. It -s a place b-th close and dist-nt. Some say it is-'- even an i-lness. I can-ot agree wi-h them. I'm a d-ctor, not – philosop-er or ev-n a p-ychiatrist. But sometimes I have -- --- ------ thi- question. It's tr-- th-t -- us h-s ima---ings are n--hing but the in--nti--s o- a busy -ind. But to him, there si-ply is no o--er r--lity. Furthe-more he is happy there. So w-y, I as- my--lf, why -n the na-e of h-aling h-m must -e drag him pain-ully into t-e wor-d of our o-- real-ty?**'

There was a notice handwritten at the very bottom of the paper too.

'**_I g-- -he k-y --om E-pio. It'- pro-a--- --- key -- --- box._**'

Miles didn't understand much of it, but from what he had been able to understand, it seemed to be a doctor's journal. "Interesting…"

"Miles, look." Shadow walked over to him—Miles hasn't even noticed the hedgehog was searching the room while he was reading the journal entry. In his hand was a purple key.

"Just what we need, more keys." Miles sighed. "Thanks."

In the corner of the room was a hook, holding a decently large sized carrying bag. Just what they needed. Shadow grabbed onto it and put it around his arm. Now he too at least had something more than his small pockets to carry stuff in. The steel pipe was too large to fit in the bag, so he still had to lug it around in his hand, but at least they felt more confident about carrying stuff around with them.

Unfortunately, the purple key didn't seem to work on any of the doors on the first floor. Which was a problem, because literally every door on that floor other than the one to the document room and the one to the stairway was locked. Thus, they had no other choice but to go to the second floor. Thankfully, no part of the stairwell was blocked off like in the apartments, and they made it to the second floor quickly enough.

It all seemed easy, until they opened the door and walked into the 2nd floor main hallway. The radio went off, and Miles almost jumped. He looked to his left, trying to see what was causing the static to spark.

"Miles!" He had looked the wrong way though. He realized that when Shadow grabbed his shoulder, trembling slightly. Miles turned to him and his eyes widened in shock and horror when he saw what the hedgehog was looking at.

Like the straightjacket monsters, the creature had no face. Unlike the straightjacket monster though, it walked upright, only limping a bit every few steps it took. Its arm and leg muscles seemed to bend in any direction it pleased, which became very apparent as it lurched closer to them, its thin fleshy legs bending back and forth as it attempted not to fall over. It wore a tattered nurses outfit, hat included, along with an extremely small miniskirt that only barely managed to cover up its bloodstained crotch. In its right hand it held a two-foot long steel pipe.

Shadow seemed to be too horrified to move, but Miles was far from it. He reached into his side-pack and drew out the handgun, aiming it at the nurses inflated chest. For a second he considered telling it to stay away, but he knew that'd be useless. It was pretty obvious it wasn't any mortally living employee. He squeezed the trigger.

-_Click!_

Miles's blood ran cold. "…shit."

"Run!" Shadow exclaimed as he came back to his senses. Grabbing onto the fox's hand, he ran to the left, just managing to dodge a swing from the nurse's pipe. The two ran down the hall and screeched to a halt when they realized it was a dead end.

They both turned around and looked at where they ran from. The nurse continued walking towards them, much faster than the straightjacket monsters moved but slower than the two furries. To their horror, they saw a second nurse come from around the corner and stumble right after the first one.

"What do we do!?" Shadow cried. Miles turned and looked at the door next to the hallways' dead end. He grabbed onto the handle and was extremely relieved to feel it open. Grabbing the hedgehog's arm, he pulled him into the room and slammed the door closed behind him.

"Oh man…not good." Miles said, his voice echoing throughout the room. "More monsters, no ammo. How the hell are we going to get out of this one?"

Shadow didn't seem to know how to reply, so Miles decided to survey the room. It seemed to be a very small Women's Locker Room. There were only a few lockers (obviously), along with a sink, a broken mirror, and a few benches in there with them.

"Seems safe in here, for now." He said to Shadow. "You sit down, are you hurt?"

"Nah, they didn't hit me. I'm alright." Shadow said as he walked over to one of the benches and sat down on it.

"Good." Miles began opening, checking, and closing all of the lockers. It seemed hopeless, but he needed to find _something _to defend them with. Maybe some pepper spray or something…Shadow could use the pipe, he could use something else…it seemed a lot better than trying to defend each other with one weapon.

"Jeez…" Shadow said. "That thing used to work here."

"I know." Miles opened up another locker, checked it, found nothing useful, and closed it.

"Do you think it was a virus or something?"

"What?" Miles looked over at the hedgehog.

"Ya know, that caused people to end up like this."

Shrugging, Miles opened another locker. "That sounds like something in a cliché horror story."

"Yeah, I know. But that's the only explanation I can think of…"

"Ouch!"

Shadow bolted up, quickly running up to his ally's aid, who had put his right index finger in his mouth. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Miles took his finger out of his mouth, showing the tiny droplet of blood forming around the tip and staining his glove. He looked at the teddy bear in the locker in front of him. "Stupid teddy bear stabbed me with something."

Raising an eyebrow, Shadow picked up the stuffed animal and held it close to his face, examining it for anything sharp. There was a small opened safety pin jabbed into the bear's side, pointing outwards with a smaller trace of blood on the tip of it.

"Ugh." Miles began to search the rest of the lockers while Shadow pulled the safety pin out and put it in his bag. A raised eyebrow was the fox's response. "Why are you keeping that?"

Shadow shrugged. "We could use it as a lockpick."

"Do you know how to pick locks?"

"…No."

Rolling his eyes, Miles opened the last locker. His jaw dropped at what was within it, and he suddenly felt a lot safer than he did before.

"Sweet!" he shouted with a shadow of glee in his voice, looking at the hedgehog. "There's a friggin _shotgun_ in here!"

"_What?_" Shadow leaned sideways and looked into the locker. Indeed, there was a small fully loaded pump shotgun jammed into the locker, as if someone knew they'd need it and left it there for them. They couldn't believe the luck. "This should take down those nurses!"

"Yeah. Now only if we could find more ammo." Miles pulled the shotgun out of the locker. More ammo would be needed soon, but for now just having the weapon was good enough. "Come on, let's check more of this place out."

Nodding, they both exited the women's locker room and reentered the hallway. The nurse demon was hunched over at the end of the hall, where it was last time they saw it. It let out a moan and stumbled towards them. This time though, they were armed and ready. Miles raised the shotgun, aiming at the monster's torso, and squeezed the trigger. With a bang louder than that of the handgun, the nurses body was filled with led and it fell to the floor, twitching. Meanwhile, Miles dropped the gun to the floor and cried out, not expected the recoil to be as forceful as it was.

"Ooouch!" he cried, rubbing his shoulder.

The second nurse turned around the corner, not even seeming to be aware of what happened to the first one. Before Miles could pick the gun up and shoot the other one down, Shadow grabbed it and looked to the door on the opposite end of the women's locker room. He used it and ran into a second locker room, pulling Miles in right after him.

"Heeey, what was that for?"

"Might was well check the other rooms too." Shadow said, handing him the shotgun again. "Besides, no need to waste any more ammo than we need to. I get the feeling there's more than two nurses here."

Miles knew he had a point and took the gun, immediately checking the lockers in this room like in the other one. This one seemed to be the men's locker room, judging from all the pornographic photos and cut outs of women taped inside a few of the lockers. There didn't seem to be anything that could help their situation though…

"Hey Miles."

He turned back to Shadow, who was holding out a long leather belt. "Why would we need that?"

"Found this on one of the hangers over there." He pointed to where there were a few hooks on the wall, most with a jacket or something on them. "You can use this to hold the shotgun."

Looking at it, Miles noticed that might actually work if he did it right. Whoever owned the belt beforehand probably had a usual build for a human, but it was long enough to fit around his whole torso and more, since he was a bit shorter. Taking the belt, he tied it tight from his right shoulder to his left hip, sliding the shotgun in between his back and the thin leather. It worked as a sash, pinning the shotgun to his back. As long as it didn't come too loose, it should hold.

Shadow did the same with another belt and the steel pipe, looking—and feeling—rather ridiculous. At least now his hands were free, though. Miles went back to checking the lockers, while Shadow started searching the pockets of all the jackets, pants, ect. hung on the hooks on the wall. Miles came up with nothing, but Shadow once again found a key.

"What's this?" he asked. Miles looked over his shoulder and read the label on it.

'**Examination Room**'

"Isn't that downstairs?" Miles asked, pulling out the map. Indeed, it was.

"Let's go." Shadow said. They both ran out of the room, back into the infamous hallway. The second nurse was easier to evade than they thought. On their way out of the hallway and back down the stairway, Miles took note of the door across from the stairs they hadn't seen before labeled 'M'.

The first floor was still void of nurses—and Amy, unfortunately—so the duo walked back to the examination room, which was right next to the document room, using the key and opening the door. There didn't seem to be anything of use in there, but there was another door at the end of the room. They took that door into the Doctor's Lounge.

There was a number written on the whiteboard, along with a note. Miles shined his flashlight on it and squinted, trying to read what it said.

'**Third Floor S Corridor: 72182**'

Miles realized they hadn't even checked that floor yet. He figured it might be a code or something. "Shadow, could you write that number down?"

"I'm on it." Shadow said, pulling out the hospital map. Over the door to the S Corridor he wrote 72182 down with the red pen he'd gotten from the pelican's corpse. Meanwhile, Miles was examining more of the room, trying to find out if there was anything worth taking.

He found some already. In the sink—a place he had least expected to find something like it—was a box of shotgun shells. "Yes!" he grabbed the box and opened it, seeing seven shells resting within it. He turned to Shadow, who was still writing on the map. "What are you doing?"

"This place is pretty big. We should cross out the doors that are locked and the doors that aren't so we won't get lost." Shadow said matter-of-factly.

"Good thinking." Miles said, feeling even gladder Shadow was with him by the minute. This hedgehog was a bit weird, but he sure as hell wasn't stupid. Miles liked people like that.

Since every door in the first floor main hall other than the ones they'd already gone through was still locked, Miles and Shadow decided to check out more of the second floor. And they did just that, taking the door across from the stairway that lead into the M Corridor. A few nurses were in the hall, but Miles quickly tore them down with a few scattered shells from the shotgun. The hall ended at a door labeled 'N' about fifty yards away, with about six doors along the left wall. There were four doors on the right, two of which lead into some random room while the third lead to the corridor stairway, and next to that was the elevator door. All of the right doors were locked, except for the one nearest to the corridor entrance: Exam Room #3. Shadow opened that door and they stepped in.

It looked pretty much the same as the other exam room, except there wasn't any door in the back. Also notable was a single typewriter on the desk in the corner, and what looked like a briefcase right next to it. Miles and Shadow came closer to it, realizing the briefcase had a red cross on it – it was really a first aid kit. None of them were particularly wounded, but it could come in handy if they were. Shadow picked up the first aid kid and put it in his bag while Miles checked out the typewriter.

"Whoa…"

"What?" Shadow asked as he walked up to the fox and looked over his shoulder at the typewriter, which Miles was staring at.

'**_i know it i know the number of the lock 8 5 12 16 it cant help him anymoree the button key doest scare me so nobody can stop who i am is i am is who i am i dont know who i am is who i am is who i am who am i is who iam i am who i am is_**'

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Riiiight…"

"What lock?" Miles asked.

Shrugging, Shadow replied. "Maybe we'll find out soon. Better take it with us."

Nodding, Miles ripped the paper out of the typewriter, folded it, and put it in his bulging side-pack. Better safe than sorry.

As they walked out, Shadow crossed out Exam Room #3 on the map, so they wouldn't end up going back in there without any need to. Miles tried the nearest door to the Exam Room #3's door, M1, only to find it was locked. He walked down the hall, shotgun ready to shoot if anything decided to come near. The second left door was unlocked, and he pushed into M2, Shadow following close behind.

All the furniture in the room was covered in white sheets, as if the place had been closed off to the rest of the building or something. If there was anything remotely useful in there, it was underneath the clean white sheets. And neither Miles nor Shadow felt like checking it out, so they just walked back out of the room and into the M Corridor again. They continued moving farther and farther North ('_Or is it South?_' Miles wondered. He'd lost his sense of direction somewhere along the way), coming up with no unlocked doors until they got to the final one before the N Door: M6. The handle turned easily, and Miles and Shadow pushed into the room.

The radio static reacted to the nurses in the room two seconds too late. The nurse to Shadow's immediate left raised the pipe and smacked the poor hedgehog over the head with it.

"Shadow!" Miles cried, looking at the nurse in shock that he hadn't reacted fast enough. Before he could raise the shotgun to shoot the monster down, the nurse behind him hit him over the back of the head with another pipe, causing him to fall to the floor, joining Shadow. "_Ahhh!!_"

Shaking his head, Shadow looked up to see the nurse standing over him—and right up its short skirt to see something that he could of lived without noticing. The nurse raised the pipe to bring it down on his head again, but he pulled his steel pipe out just in time to block her attack with it. He stumbled up, only to be hit over the head by another attack once again. He fell back to the floor, crying out in pain.

Meanwhile, Miles rolled out of the way of his own respective enemy's attack, in a similar way to how he had dodged Pyramid Head before. Except the nurses moved a lot more controllably and faster than that monster could. It kicked him in the ribs, causing him to cry out again. The nurse raised the pipe over its head and was about to jab him in the stomach with the metal—surely knocking the wind out of him if not cutting a hole into his body—until he quickly grabbed the shotgun he dropped, pointed upwards, and pulled the trigger. The recoil sent another sharp pain into his arm, but the result of the blast pleased him enough. The nurse's chest exploded, sending sprinkles of blood everywhere, and it fell to the floor, spazming out before dying like the monsters before it.

"Gaaaah!" he heard Shadow cry out and looked to see the second nurse hit the hedgehog in the back as he was trying to get up, knocking him back down.

"No!" Miles aimed the shotgun and squeezed the trigger, hearing only the click of the empty chamber. "Damnit!"

As if it finally heard him, the nurse spun around and jabbed him in the left arm. Miles clutched his arm and shrieked, dropping the shotgun to the floor again and almost stumbling over. The nurse demon was about to attack again when suddenly its skull caved in, the top of its head being replaced by a long steel pipe. It fell to the floor, spazming like they all did, and died. Shadow stood in the nurses place, pipe in hand.

"Jesus." Miles rubbed his arm, which was throbbing in sync with the back of his head.

"You said it—" Shadow wasn't able to finish, falling over in a world of pain.

"Shadow! Are you alright?" Miles kneeled down and looked down at the beaten hedgehog, seeing some blood forming at the back of his spiky head.

"Ugnn…" Shadow moaned.

"Please tell me you're okay…" Miles placed Shadow's head in his lap, rubbing the back and ignoring how the hedgehog's spikes were slightly cutting into his thigh.

"Miles…" Shadow moaned once again, blinking slightly.

"I'm sorry; I should have done better in protecting you…"

Reaching for Shadow's carrying bag, Miles pulled out the first aid kit they had gotten earlier and opened it, viewing the contents inside. He didn't know what the hell to do and with what, but at least he had something. "Don't worry. You'll be okay."

As the fox was trying to figure out what to do with the stuff he had—he knew he'd need to get one of the bandages and wrap it around that wound—Shadow muttered something.

"What?" Miles asked.

"This place has gotta be hell." Shadow said.

Miles nodded. "When Sonic and I came here before…it was so different from it was now…sunny, quiet…everyone was so nice."

"Why were you here anyway?" the hedgehog mumbled, clutching his bruised arm. It hurt a lot, but having a conversation might help a little, if anything.

"We came here for a vacation." Miles said, a distant look on his face. "Stayed for a few weeks…it was great. Sonic especially loved this place. We rented a room in that hotel…"

"Sound like you and Sonic had a nice time here in this town." Shadow said, smiling weakly. "I wish I could remember what it was like before all this."

There was a long pause, the only sound being that of Miles fumbling through the first aid kit. Eventually he found what he needed and began to patch up the back of Shadow's head. That was when he asked "If you lived here in the past and have amnesia or something, then you'd get your memory back eventually, right?"

"I hope so."

A short while later, Miles was finished working on the wound and helped Shadow up. He almost seemed to stumble up, but managed to keep his balance. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Shadow said, clutching his arm. "It doesn't hurt much anymore."

From the look on his face, Miles instantly knew he was lying. But that was okay, Shadow was obviously trying to make him stop worrying. It was probably best to just do what he wanted. "Alright."

Picking up the shotgun, Miles reloaded it with the shells he had found in the doctors lounge. Only seven shells left – they'd need to find Amy fast if they hoped to make it out in one piece. He picked up Shadow's bag—best not to make the weakened hedgehog carry too much—and gestured for the hedgehog to grab the pipe. Shadow did just that, and nodded. It was time to check the third floor.

"You ready?" Miles asked.

"Yes." Shadow smiled. Miles felt a strange but strong comfort in that smile, and that feeling of gladness hit him once again. Had Shadow not been with him, he surely wouldn't have been in as much of a good state of mind as he was in right now.

Smiling back, Miles turned and walked out of the room and back into the M Corridor.


	9. Pleasure & Pain

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 9: Pleasure & Pain

------

Waves.

Such relaxing waves there were; swaying in the wind and splashing across the rock and stone walls on the edge of Sonic Hill. Long wooden pillars held up the stone flooring of the observation deck, which stole sunlight from the waters beneath it, keeping it for itself and those fortunate enough to stand upon it.

Today, only two stood there. But they did not take their place above the cool waters and below the bright sun for granted. In fact, they enjoyed their short time there much more than most locals of the town ever would.

Sonic and Tails leaned on the railing, overlooking the beautiful Lake Toluca. Every minute of that afternoon was spent standing there, the two lovers just enjoying the cool air and wonderfully loud silence of Rosewater Park. It was like a dream come true; a dream many others were not fortunate enough to experience; a dream that was theirs and theirs only.

"Man, what a great afternoon, eh Tails?" Sonic's calm and cool voice said, his bright emerald eyes gleaming with happiness. That happiness was what made Tails's whole life seem worthwhile. And for now, it most certainly was. "I'm glad this place isn't too busy today."

"Yeah…" Tails said, staring off into the crystal waters dreamily. It was strange. Though they still felt that slight shadow of worry when showing their respective signs of affection in public, no one in this town seemed to bother them about it. Everyone, for the most part, just left them alone. And they had no problem with that. Ever since those dark days in highschool, that was all Tails and Sonic Hedgehog-Prower had wished for. Now their wish had finally come true.

Tails's right yellowish orange hand reached down, cupping Sonic's dark blue one. They laced fingers together and held tight, knowing once and for all nothing can break them any longer. Their dreams were now a reality.

Life was perfect.

-----

"Miles?"

Miles blinked once, then a second time, suddenly being pulled back into the harsh reality that was his present day life. His eyes traveled across the short distance between the gray stairs in front of him and the hedgehog on his immediate left, for a split second seeing Sonic staring at him. But Sonic's bright young face quickly faded back into Shadow's dark concerned one.

"You alright?"

"Yeah…" Miles, once known as Tails, didn't sound very convincing, even to himself. "Just…spacing out a bit, that's all."

They were walking up the hospital's main stairway, Miles's flashlight illuminating their shadows spookily on the dusty walls along the way. The third floor door was at the top of the flight of stairs they were on at the moment. A gate blocked off the basement, making it inaccessible, but that meant Amy couldn't go down there either. The smaller the place was, the better.

Miles and Shadow reached the door and opened it into the third floor main hall, instantly knowing there were some nurse demons inside. The radio was screaming with life, probably becoming once again the very thing that saved them from a world of hurt. Miles glanced down the hall to his left, seeing a single nurse stumbling towards them, dragging its extra long pipe behind it in a fashion not unlike its sisters. He was getting very sick and tired of these things, and felt a disturbing sense of pleasure when he squeezed the shotguns trigger and tore the nurse down to the floor with the scattered bullets. The doom-insinuating static ceased after that, telling them that the hall was now safe.

Shadow walked up to the heavy steel S Corridor Door, which was parallel to the stairway door. "I think this is where we need one of those codes."

Miles shined the flashlight on the lock around the door's handle to see Shadow was right – there was a digital keypad on the door with numbers 0-9 on it. Reaching into the carrying bag and pulling out the map, Miles reread the number Shadow had written over the door and typed it into the lock: 72182. A beep squealed from somewhere, and the automatic door slid open.

The S Corridor was just as long as the M one but there were a lot more doors in this one. From the looks of it on the map, all the rooms in this corridor were much more compact, which explained why. As would be expected, it looked just as old and dirty as the other corridors, its dark green-blue walls and floor looking like they hadn't been occupied in ages.

"You ready Shad?" Miles asked, glancing at the young hedgehog beside him.

Shadow nodded, almost laughing at the nickname. "You bet."

And so, they went down the hallway following the same formation as before: Miles checking all the doors on the left wall, trying the purple key on every door that was locked, while Shadow checked the few right doors.

The third left door down, S3, opened up into a small patient's room. Miles gestured for Shadow to follow and entered with the hedgehog—who was still clutching his arm weakly—right behind him. The interior was pretty basic, just a soft bed on the back wall, a small boarded up window above it, and an even smaller white table on the right side of it. On the left wall was nothing but an old photograph of what looked like a female doctor stapled onto it. The flashlight showed a key on the table next to the bed, which Miles reached for and picked up. Upon closer examination, he noticed the word 'Roof' etched into the top of the key. He guessed that was the next place he'd have to check out, though he doubted Amy would be hanging out up there…

"This Sonic, I wish I could meet him. He sounds like a great guy."

Miles turned to see Shadow leaning near the door, staring at the doctor's photograph. It was more than a bit of an awkward way and place to begin, but he seemed to want to make conversation once again, and Miles didn't mind that. It was a lot better than the even more awkward silence that kept falling upon them.

"Yeah…" Miles smiled, looking towards the hedgehog, but not seeming to actually see him. It was as if he was looking at the wall behind him. "He looks so much like you…"

Shadow turned and flashed a toothy grin. "Are you sayingI'mhandsome?"

"Eer…" Miles sure as hell didn't expect _that_. He looked down to the floor, blushing slightly. "Well…"

"Heheh, sorry, sorry." Shadow said.

"Ever since he died everything's just felt so…pointless, you know?" Miles asked. Shadow was just joking earlier, but Miles was being completely serious, as usual. "He was my only friend…"

Getting off the wall, Shadow walked up to Miles and put his hand on the fox's shoulder. "Hey, I'm your friend too now though, aren't I?"

"Well, yeah. I guess…" Miles considered whether he should say what he suddenly felt the undying need to say next, and decided to. He couldn't help it. "For all these years, I've felt so empty and alone, without Sonic. But when you're around…well, it's as if I'm with him again. Heh, I know it's sort of cheesy, but…you really do make me feel alive again. I really like you, Shadow."

That's when something very peculiar happened. That burst of admiration collided with him once more, overwhelming his senses with a strange unsure feeling. Shadow stared into Miles's azure blue eyes, the fox staring back into his deep crimson red ones. He really loved those eyes; not as innocent as Sonic's, but so much more dark and mysterious…

"I've been so alone…"

He could feel Shadow's warm breath upon his, their faces mere centimeters apart. That strange needing wouldn't die, and he felt that it was a mutual need. Ever so slowly, the two males closed their eyes and leaned in; their lips just barely brushing against one another for a split second before Miles broke the small kiss and turned away.

"No…Sonikku…" he said quickly, taking in deep exaggerated breaths.

Ashamed, Shadow backed off and, like Miles did, looked away. "Miles…"

"Shadow…I'm sorry." Miles said, taking in a fifth deep breath and looking at the hedgehog. "I…I came here looking for Sonic…"

"I understand." Shadow said calmly, trying to hide the regret in his tone.

Try as they might, the fight against that awkward silence was lost, and it filtered into the room. Neither of them knew what to say. So they just stood there in the darkness, too ashamed to look at one another and too embarrassed to say anything.

Finally, Shadow spoke sorrowfully. "I'm sorry too."

"Shadow…"

"That was wrong of me to do." He walked past Miles and sat down on the bed behind him, crunching the hidden springs inside of it together a bit.

Miles tried to think of something to say, coming up with another nothing to aid his feelings. "I—"

Shadow lurched forward and let out a harsh, hard series of coughs, halting whatever the fox was going to say. Miles flashed a concerned look—feeling a strange, UFO of hidden terror for some reason for a quarter of a second—and waited nervously for the hedgehog to finish. After a few seconds, Shadow finally stopped and cleared his throat, laying down on the mattress and putting his hand to his temple with a low moan. "Oooh my head…"

"Are you okay?"

Shadow took his hand off his head and reached for the table beside the bed, opening one of the drawers and pulling out a medicine capsule. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a hangover, I guess." He said, opening it and taking one of the pills inside. "I think I'll stay here for a while."

"You sure?" Miles sounded just as worried as he felt.

Nodding, Shadow swallowed the thin multicolored pill. "I think I could use the rest."

'_Maybe that's a good idea…_' Miles thought to himself, unsure of what his factory of thought would produce next. '_I think I'm…_'

"Okay." Miles glanced at the steel pipe beside Shadow. If something happened, he could at least defend himself, so maybe this was for the better for the time being. "I'll continue my search. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"You promise?" Shadow asked with an almost childlike innocence.

"I promise."

Shadow gave him a warm, thankful smile. "Thank you Miles."

"No problem." Miles turned to walk out of the room.

"Miles."

He turned back, looking at Shadow. "What?"

"Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Yeah…" Miles smiled back this time, disappearing behind the wall of wood as he exited the room.

Once he closed the door behind him, Miles looked at the wall across the hall from him and let out another shaky deep breath.

'_I…_' he didn't even know what to _think_ now. What happened in the other room…'_I can't let this get in the way…I need to find Amy, and Sonic…_'

He shook his head, his mind suddenly feeling overloaded with thoughts of both Sonic and Shadow. Something felt very unnerving, and it didn't feel like it was just coming from Shadow.

'_Stop it Miles. Just stop it _now' He cleared his throat, trying his best not to think about it. It was best not to get lost in thought at the moment: he had more important things to worry about. Looking up and down the hall, he decided to check the roof first. He really didn't feel like even staying in this section of the hospital anymore.

The Corridor Stairway, like on all the other floors, was locked, so he had to take the main hall stairway if he wanted to get to the roof. He began to head back to the third floor main hall, feeling awkward and exposed walking through the hospital for the first time without his partner to accompany him. He opened the stairway door and walked up the steps to the rooftop doorway. Sliding the key into the slot and turning, he unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The roof was very cold.

Instantly, Miles rubbed his arms and shivered from the chill. He hadn't even noticed it, but it was a lot warmer in the hospital than it was outside, and the rooftop was even colder than it was on the streets. Had to be in the low 40s, or at least somewhere around it. That didn't make any sense. Didn't heat usually rise?

Shivering slightly, he looked around for anything of interest. The fog wasn't much different on the roof than it was on ground zero; endlessly thick and gray. In fact, it was even thicker than before, he felt. It might have been just a mental thing, but it sure felt visually real. He could only see about three feet before the world faded into grayness now, and that didn't make him feel very comfortable. He began to walk around, hearing the crunch of the small pebbles covering the surface of the barren roof as he moved on.

'_Be careful…_' he told himself. '_If the edge of the building is nearby, you won't see it till you're practically stepping off of it…_'

Nervousness overlapped his thoughts, making him begin to sweat at his palms. That worry of falling off the building was replaced with wonder as he spotted something in front of him. Kneeling down, he picked it up to realize it was a small brown leather-bound book. Someone's diary perhaps? He opened the book and flipped through a few pages, seeing that it in fact was. Whoever had owned it previously didn't write in it much – only a few pages were filled out. Each of those pages though was filled with sloppily written notions and musings coated in depression, loneliness, regret, and many other moods and emotions he felt too accustomed to. After that, just plain white paper. He flipped back a few pages to read the last of what was written in the journal.

'**_May 9  
Rain. Stared out the window all day. Peaceful here. Nothing to do. Still not allowed to go outside._**

May 10  
Still raining. Talked with doctor a little. Would they have saved me if I didn't have a family to feed? I know I'm pathetic, weak. I'm sorry. Not everyone can be strong.

May 11  
Rain again. The meds made me feel sick today. If I'm only better when I'm drugged, then who am I anyway?

May 12  
Rain as usual. I dont want to cause any more trouble for anyone, but I'm a bother either way. Can it really be such a sin to run instead of fight? Some people may say so, but they don't have to live in my shoes. It may be selfish, but it's what I want. It's too hard like this. It's just too hard.

May 13  
Its clear outside. The doctors told me I've been released, that I've got to go home. I'

It ended there.

"I wonder who's journal this is…" Miles wondered to himself. '_Not to mention why the hell it's all the way up here._'

Getting no answer as usual, Miles closed the book and put it back down on the gravel, rising to his feet afterwards. Turning around, he decided to check out more of the place before going back inside.

-_Shing!_

Miles stopped walking and his fur stood on end in immediate response to the sound. A very metallic noise was heard not too far away, like metal had been dragged across concrete.

"H-hello?" Miles asked as he frantically looked around. All he could see was that goddamn fog. Terror quickly began to grow like a mold over his soul. "Is anybody there…?"

Silence.

Miles held still for a long time, waiting to hear something else, almost _wanting_ to, but hearing nothing but his own respiration. After all this, it probably wasn't surprising he was just imagining things, and he sure hoped he was now. Slowly, he began to turn around.

And that's when Pyramid Head charged him head on and slammed its giant knife onto his back, cutting into his flesh. The force from which the knife hit Miles sent him stumbling forwards, trying desperately and failing to stop himself before the ground beneath him disappeared. Miles let out a mixed scream of pain and terror as he realized he'd been swatted off the building like a weightless ping-pong ball. It was a scream that quickly died out as the sound of his small body hitting something solid far below echoed throughout Sonic Hill.

And then, once again, icy cold silence filled the rooftop.


	10. Delusion Overdose

****

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 10: Delusion Overdose

------

__

Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…

Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…

sonic hill sonic hill found another flesh kill

------

Miles bolted upwards, his back screaming just as much as he was. "_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!_"

Echoing.

It was too much, and he fell back to the floor, only to scream once again as the soft padding hit his mangled flesh. It hurt. It hurt a lot.

Swimming in pain, Miles finally came to his mortal senses and stared up at the ceiling, which now had a large hole in it about the size of his body.

'_I'm…alive…_'

Somehow, he didn't feel like he would be for much longer. He was laying in something. Something _wet._

Slowly, he reached behind him—his muscles pulsating with pain—and put his hand to his back, only to feel the worst physical agony he ever felt in his entire life. It shot through his spine, quickly flowing through the rest of his body in an insane electrified tidal wave. He let out another scream (the feeling of helplessness it suggested was astonishing) and took his hand away from his back. He looked at his now crimson-stained glove, amazed that his body was still running.

'—_First Aid Kit._'

Blindly, he reached for the bag he'd taken from Shadow earlier, feeling a huge sense of relief as his hand spotted it a few feet to his right. He opened it and pulled the first aid kit out, opening the case and feeling around for any bandages or _something _to help him. The first thing he felt was a bottle he didn't recall seeing before. He pulled it out of the case and tried to read what was printed on the side.

'**Health Drink**

__

Guaranteed to speed up the healing process and/or numb pains from cuts, sores, infections and menstrual cramps. Not recommended for children under the age of 12. If any side effects occur, consult with a doctor.'

'_Thank God._' The thought wasn't even finished before the bottle top was off, and he was vigorously chugging the whole thing down. Small rivers of it that didn't quite make it into his mouth spilled down his furry cheeks, but he didn't care. All he cared about was at least partially numbing the hurt.

It was empty in seconds, and the pain in Miles back seemed to fade a little. Just a little. He doubted what he just did was healthy, but if it killed him, that was just too bad. At the moment he was too focused on the pain to really care about that. Putting his hand to his back, he felt along the line of torn flesh created by Pyramid Head's blade, twitching slightly from the still blinding pain it caused.

'_Why didn't that kill me?_'

It was then that his hand collided with his shotgun, which was still strapped to him, and now had a small dent in its side that was perfectly aligned with the large cut across his back. That piece of metal must have been what reduced the effect of the blow and stopped the knife from chopping him in half. He didn't know whether that made him really lucky or really screwed over.

Looking up, he finally fully processed the large hole in the ceiling, which was about the size of his body. Light from the fog poured in through it, which explained why he could see even though his flashlight wasn't on anymore. How did he make it through the roof in one piece?

'_I must still be on the third floor…_' Miles thought. '_And the roof was old and molded, or…or something. That would make sense wouldn't it?_'

Time to get to business. Miles reached back into the first aid kit and pulled out a long roll of bandaging, ripping it when he felt it was long enough and slowly, painfully, wrapping it around his back. When he was done, the bandage was wrapped tightly around his chest, a little lower than the belt that held the shotgun was, covering the wound. Now at least he might have a chance of living long enough to get out of the room.

And that's when the third question hit him.

'_Where the hell am I anyway?_'

That's when he remembered: padding. The floor was padded and soft, like it was a…

Slow and still painfully, Miles sat up a second time and turned on the flashlight, illuminating the new room he was in more than the fog's weak white lighting ever could. The walls, floor, and even ceiling of the square room were padded with comfortable white cushions. There was a steel door not too far in front of him with a window at the top, so people could see through it. And finally, there was blood, everywhere. And not just _his _blood either. The cushions were stained with—hell some parts were _soaked_ in—crimson red, especially on the floor not too far ahead.

Miles realized that, to his horror, he was laying in the middle of one of the insane asylum's special treatment cells.

'_When Miles has calmed down, he can be let out of his cell for lunch hour._' Sarcasm just didn't seem quite as funny to him as he hoped it would.

After a few minutes of just sitting there, trying to get used to the pain, he finally crawled back up using one of the padded walls until he was standing upright. The bandages seemed to stretch, once again causing more and more pain to flow through his veins, but they stayed intact, and he did too.

'_Oh god please tell me the door isn't locked._' He clumsily stepped forward unintentionally mimicking the way the nurses stumbled. Right when he reached the door, he felt his strength drain from his body for a moment and fell forward, pushing the door open and almost landing flat on his face in the process. The hallway it opened into, like the rest of the hospital, was dark and gloomy. Apparently the door was left slightly ajar, which was a very good thing because there were no handles on the inside. If it hadn't been opened beforehand he'd be trapped inside that insane asylum until he starved to death…

'_I need to get out of here._'

Turning, he put the first aid kit in the bag and picked it up, grunting in more pain as he kneeled over. He had the feeling that he should take it easy on the running around for a little while, at least. With that thought in mind, he began limping out of the Special Treatment Hall, searching around with his trusty flashlight for a door or something. Once he spotted it, he pushed it open into the 2nd floor main hall.

More nurses, dragging their pipes across the tile flooring, stumbled towards him. Immediately, he shouldered the shotgun, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The burst of ammunition sent the nurse flying and falling to the floor, dying with the radio static once again, and almost knocked his weakened body over. The only unlocked part of the hospital he hadn't checked was the end of the S corridor on floor 3. Turning around the corner and going through the stairway door, Miles crawled up the stairs and back into the third floor main hallway. He took the door directly across from that back into the S corridor, and stared down the hall.

'_Better check the rest of the hall before going back to Shadow._' Miles noted. It'd be best to at least find something useful before he worried the hell out of the poor hedgehog.

So he continued to slowly move through the hallway, feeling pain course through his veins like a bullet in every step, trying all the doors he came across and only finding most of them to be locked. He continued moving down the hall till he noticed one of the few doors on the right side. He tried it and was rather surprised when it opened easily, revealing a dimly lit shower room.

He took one step into the room before he heard a wet sound and felt something squish under his right red-and-white sneaker. Looking down, he noticed a thick trail of green sludge leading from the door deeper into the open shower room, and his foot was in the middle of it.

"Eww…"

Pulling his foot out of the icky substance, he wiped it on the dirty floor beside it and began to follow the trail of sludge, curious as where it led. Finally, it ended at a small open drainage pipe in the corner of the room. There was something shiny inside the drain reflecting off the flashlight, Miles noticed. Kneeling down, he realized it was a key.

"What the hell is a key doing _down there_?" he asked himself. It didn't matter, he just knew he'd probably need it. He reached in, feeling glad he wore gloves that day, and tried to grab it. All he got was a handful of sludge – the key was too far down the drain for him to reach. "Damnit…"

Sighing, he stood back up and decided to worry about it later. He wasn't in the mood to stick around this disgusting room. So he walked back into the S Corridor, continuing to check all the doors and coming up with no luck. That is, until he reached the final door in the hallway: S14.

S14 was not unlike S3: It was a small sealed room meant for the patients with nothing more than a bed and a table in it. But unlike S3, the bed was overturned and partially leaning on the wall. The table was in the middle of the compact room, and on that table was a small gray box wrapped in chains. There was also a note carved into the right wall with what must have been something extremely sharp.

'**_rAcheL_**

i wiLL Love u four ever, it is my destAny!'

Wondering who wrote that and whom it was written to, Miles examined the box. Whatever was in it must have been important – there were a few layers of chains wrapped around it tightly, and three locks. Miles pulled on all the locks, checking to see if any of them were unlocked. Luckily, one of them already was. He pulled the first chain out, and then examined the other two.

The first one was held together by a normal key-lock, and had a purple X colored onto it. The second one was a combination lock. Miles began to contemplate how he could open them. The answer came pretty quickly.

-------

'**_I g-- -he k-y --om E-pio. It'- pro-a--- --- key -- --- box._**'

------

'_Is this the box that doctor was talking about?_' Miles reached into the bag and pulled out the purple key. He slid it into the hole and felt a wonderful sense of joy as it unlocked and the chain loosened. He dropped the now useless key to the floor and pulled the chain off. Finally; got that out of the way. Now only one lock left…

'_8, 5, 12, 16. That's what that typewriter note said…_'

Maybe that was it too. The fox leaned forward, trying to ignore the ever-present pain in his back, and grabbed the combination lock. He put in that combo, and once he turned it to 16 he heard a click and this chain too loosened. "Yes!"

He had figured it out, and the box was finally unlocked. He pulled the chain off and grabbed the handle at the top of the box. Slowly, he opened it, curious as to what was inside. When it was opened all the way, he shined the flashlight to view whatever the doctor and the patient had been writing about.

In the box was a long, single strand of brown hair.

"…" Gripping the hair in his hand, Miles quietly grabbed the box and chucked it into the wall, screaming like an angered lunatic afterwards: "_GODDAMNIT!!!_"

---_Later…_---

Out of luck, Miles sadly walked back down the S Corridor. The past hour, and all that pain he'd just caused himself, now seemed completely worthless. He still held the hair in his hand, but he wasn't sure what the hell to do now.

He passed by the shower room door once again, wondering how he can get ahold of that key. And that's when an idea popped into his mind.

'_Hey…_'

He reached into his bag, pulling out the safety pin Shadow had put in it earlier, and then looked down at the long hair in his hand he had gotten from the box. Maybe if he used the safety pin like a hook, and the hair like a line…

'_Thank you Shadow._'

Grinning, Miles opened the shower room door again, thinking that maybe that hair wouldn't be useless after all. He walked deeper into the room and kneeled down next to the sludgy drainage pipe. He took the hair and stuck it through the topside of the pin, causing a very unstable and exaggerated fishing hook. Slowly, as not to drop it and lose his chance at getting the key, he lowered the 'hook' down through the hole. Once it reached the key, he tried to maneuver the end of the pin into the hole at the metallic top. It took a few minutes, but he finally did it. Even slower than on his way in, he pulled the hook back up with the key like a fish with bait.

"Phew, that was tough…" he said to himself, feeling rather ridiculous right now after doing all that. He examined the words printed at the top of the key: '**Corridor Elevator**'.

The elevator was locked—a rusty metal shield covered the Up and Down arrows that activated it—but if he unlocked that sheet of metal and took the elevator down to the first floor, he'd end up in the C corridor. That corridor led through the rest of the rooms in the hospital's first floor, or at least it would if the doors weren't locked. Even if they were, that meant he could check out that corridor at least.

'_If I can find anything, or more importantly, find Amy, I'll come right back to Shadow and then we'll get out of here. If I don't…well, I guess I'll just keep looking._' To be honest, he really didn't want to be near Shadow right now. That whole incident in S3 made him feel really uncomfortable…

Shaking his head and focusing again on the mission at hand, Miles put the sludgy key in the bag—he would of put it in his pocket, but that'd get Sonic's photo and letter dirty—and walked out of the room. He stopped at the elevator in the middle of the hall, which was right next to the still locked corridor stairway door, and used the key to unlock the metal covering the buttons. It opened up and he pressed the down arrow. After a few seconds, the elevator reached his floor and opened up into a very clean, well-lit square.

With a soft whir, the automatic doors shut behind Miles once he entered. He looked at the floor levels and pressed Level 1. That strange feeling of descent overtook the small cube, which died away as he reached the first floor.

Static exploded to life again when the doors opened, but Miles wasn't very surprised. In fact, he had already pulled the shotgun out from behind his back, expecting the hall to be dangerous. Quickly, he jumped into the hall—doing it with not quite as much agility as he hoped, thanks to the canyon in his back—and saw two nurses standing about ten yards away, already limping towards him. He aimed in between the two and opened fire. Both nurses fell down from the wide burst of shells, just the effect he wanted. One of them didn't die completely though, and began to stumble upwards. Pumping the shotgun, Miles aimed and fired again. Another shell tore the nurse's torso to pieces and sent it reeling to the ground. This time, it didn't get up.

He pumped the shotgun again and decided to check the rooms in this corridor first before moving into any other sector of the hospital. He stumbled to the door across the hall from the elevator: C5, and tried opening it. The handle wouldn't turn all the way though, telling him it was locked. Frustrated, he walked down the hall to the next door, C4. This one opened, and he checked out what was inside.

The room was rather large compared to the other patients rooms in the hospital, and most of the furniture in it was turned over and messed up like someone was desperately looking for something in a rush. He decided to examine the place for anything useful and coming up with nothing until he reached one of the overturned tables.

"Just what I need." Miles smiled as he picked up the box of shotgun shells. What a weird place to find them, but he didn't care. He only had two shells left, and the extra seven would probably come in handy. He still hadn't found any handgun clips other than the one in the apartments since he got the gun, and he was beginning to wonder if the weapon was just useless weight now. After considering it for a while, he decided to keep it just in case.

Further examination of the room proved useless, so he walked back into the C hallway and continued his search. The door to C3 was unlocked, and he pushed into that room to examine it just like the others.

The room, unlike C4, was actually in somewhat good shape. Also unlike C4, and every other room he'd entered so far, there were seemingly tens of creepy teddy bears strewn across the floor. Quite an unsettling thing to see anywhere, let alone a place like this.

Raising an eyebrow, Miles looked around the place, shining the flashlight around and illuminating the many teddy bears' shadows, making them look like scary demons crawling up the gray walls. It made him feel uneasy, but he had to check out the place. Stepping over two of the bears, Miles began to slowly walk into the room.

Something moved.

Miles stood still, wondering what it was. He could see a shadow that wasn't his own moving across the wall, but he couldn't spot it on the ground. It seemed to be coming from behind a toppled over table – whatever it was it wasn't visible from his current location. Slowly, he crept closer to the table, wondering why the radio wasn't going off if there was a monster in the room.

As he took the final step forward, the light shined on a young pink hedgehog sitting on the floor, playing with a teddy bear.

"Amy!" he shouted, feeling very glad he'd checked the room now. He finally found her!

The little girl looked up at him, shielding her eyes from his flashlight and looking more annoyed by his presence than relieved.

"Shadow and I have been looking _everywhere_ for you!" he said as he walked around the table to her side. He finally got a good look at her and was absolutely amazed that she didn't seem to be hurt at all considering where she was. Aside from a slightly dirty dress, she was in perfect condition. "Jeez, you're not hurt at all! I can't believe you don't have a single scratch on you!"

Raising an eyebrow in response, Amy stood up and glared at him, making her tan-skinned cheeks crumple unattractively similarly to how they did when he saw her outside earlier. "What are you talking about Tails?"

Miles wasn't in the mood for any stupid childish games. He shook his head and countered her with another question. "How did you know my nickname? Only Sonic knows that name."

"None of your beeswax!" Amy shouted. She crossed her arms and looked away, telling him anyway. "But I guess you don't remember, huh? I was friends with Sonic when I was sick in the Station Square hospital."

"But how did you know he was here!?" Miles asked, finally asking all the questions he'd been waiting ages to ask. "And how did you _get_ here!?" He sighed and put his hand out as if to stop her from answering what he really didn't expect her to answer anyway. "We'll sort this out later. This is no place for a kid…I still can't believe you're not hurt at all!"

"Hmph, I'm big enough." Putting her hands to her hips, she began to walk past him, stepping over a few teddy bears in the process. Her interest in them seemed to have deflated.

"Please come with me." Miles tried desperately to hide the weakness in his voice. He didn't like her, but he had come all this way to find her, and he surely didn't want to be alone anymore. "It's too dangerous here."

"Dangerous?" She continued walking, and for a second he thought she was going to ignore him and cause more trouble. But she stopped and turned back to him, still giving him that look of agitated disdain. "Fine."

Miles let out a sigh of relief—maybe getting out of here would be easier than he thought—and grabbed Amy's small hand. She yanked it away before he could make another move. "Don't touch me!"

"Follow me then." He sighed, walking back to the door. Childcare definitely wasn't going to be one of his future careers, that's for sure. She followed right behind him, not seeming to be disturbed by the shotgun in his hand or the dark red-stained bandages behind it. This was so surreal, he felt, as he pulled the door open back into the hallway and looked down both ends. He decided it'd probably be best to go back to Shadow next and get out of this place with him and Amy…

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Amy's tiny footsteps, and looked to see she was running down the corridor. "Hey, wait!" he called, chasing after her.

Rather than running out of the hall entirely, she stopped at one of the left doors, and waited there until he caught up to her. "I left something in this room." She said, looking sincere in what she was saying. "It's a letter from Sonic."

Memories of when he saw her on the brick wall flooded back into Miles's mind. She was holding a letter with her earlier…

"From Sonic?" he asked, eyes lighting up. Had she gotten a letter telling her to come to this town too? He grabbed the door handle she was standing next to and tried opening it, only to find it wouldn't open. "Da—eer…darn, it's locked."

"I know. I locked it in there for safe keeping." She pulled out a shiny silver key and slid it into the lock, unlocking and opening the door wide into a dark room. Looking at the fox, she gestured for him to enter the room. "Here. It's in the back of the room."

Excitement coursing through his veins, Miles ran into the room, shining the flashlight around the place. Strange, the room was completely empty—not only of the letter, but of all the furniture too.

"I don't see it…" he said.

"It's farther back." Amy said, pointing towards the corner. "Just a little. Don't you see it?"

Taking a few steps deeper into the room, Miles squinted to try and find any piece of paper. It didn't seem to be anywhere..."Hey, it's not—"

—_SLAM!_

"…_shit!_" Miles cried, slapping his forehead at his own stupidity. Quickly, he whirred around and saw that his thoughts were correct—the door was closed. He ran to it, grabbing the handle and trying to open it. His attempts were futile; she had locked him inside. "Amy! Let me out!!

---

__

Its dead, gray eyes opened wide.

---

Amy's muffled voice came from the other end of the door. "Is that what you want!? Huh!? _Huh!?_ You want out!?" she teased, almost seeming to laugh along the way. "What's the password!?"

"Let me out you snotty little brat!!" he shouted angrily. This was not the time nor place for games like this.

---

__

Its thick neck tendrils cracked, some of them snapping entirely.

---

"Ha! So I'm a brat eh? No way I'm letting you out now, fartface!"

Slamming his fist on the door, an aggravated groan emitted from his lips. "Don't do this, Amy!"

---

__

Slowly, its lacerated mouth opened wide and it let out a horribly dry roar, its sharp needle-like teeth forming around its powerful jaw.

---

Hearing the roar, Miles jumped and spun around, his heart beating fast. The radio still didn't make a sound, but the monster on the ceiling was too real to be a delusion. His eyes widened in a horrified knowledge at the situation and he backed into the door.

"A-Amy…" he stuttered, no longer angry but now deathly afraid. "L-let me out of here!"

"Ha!" she laughed cheerfully, not seeming to be aware of what was happening in the dark room. "No way! I'm just gonna leave you here to think about what you called me, stupidhead! Bye-bye!!"

"_Amy!!_" Miles cried in panic. "_No!!_"

The sound of her footsteps faded away, being replaced by another breathy roar from the creature.

'_Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck_…' he thought to himself, realizing he was trapped in the room with that…that _thing_.

It was almost similar to the straight jacket monsters, but far far worse. There were four of them all-together. Each hung on the ceiling by its long thin arms; eyes focused on his small furry body. Their brownish red skin was melded not only into the straightjacket, but also into the mattress on their backs. It looked like they were once patients who were tied to the bed and burned alive. Below the mattresses, their dirty bare feet dangled at Miles's eye-level.

He grasped the shotgun tightly, knowing that if he had a chance of making it out of the room alive, that weapon was it.

Instantly the closest hanging-mattress monster swung its body towards him, almost hitting him in the jaw. He managed to jump out of the way though and backed into a corner of the room. The monsters began to crawl across the ceiling towards him, almost cornering him before he ducked under their feet and ran to the other end of the room.

'_Okay, at least they can't do much…_' Miles thought to himself.

That was when a long tentacle shot out of the closest creature's mouth at extreme speeds, almost putting out his eye. He side stepped just in time to dodge the slimy flesh and ran to the farthest corner of the room.

'_Just had to jinx it…_'

Putting his back to the wall, he aimed the shotgun and fired as fast as he could before they tried to attack again. The shells hit the one the farthest to his left, but it didn't let go of the ceiling like he hoped it would. Instead, it shook around and continued moving towards him. It shot a tentacle—which Miles suddenly realized was its tongue—out of its mouth and missed him by only a few inches. The slithery flesh stabbed into the wall, causing Miles to scream and dive out of the way just in time to avoid another of the creature's tentacles.

'_Shit! Not good!_'

They were closing in on him again. He spotted a large hole in their 'wall' of flesh and ran for it, trying to get to the opposite end of the room. Before he got through though, one of the monsters swung its mattress forward, hitting him in the head and knocking him to the floor, landing on his shoulder. Miles let out a groan of pain and rolled out of the way of another tentacle just in time, feeling that extreme pain in his back again as it contacted with the floor. He shrugged it off as much as he could and stumbled back up, sidestepping out of the way as one of the four beasts tried to hit him again with their long tongue.

Aiming upwards, he squeezed the trigger of the shotgun again and was rewarded with another breathy roar from the monster it contacted, which was the same one as before. It accidentally let go of the ceiling and fell to the floor. Rather than just dying, it let out another roar and charged at him like an ape. The creature missed him as he ran out of the way, instead ramming headfirst into the wall. The force from which it rammed into the wall crushed its tiny skull in, leaving it to die a quick and painless death.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Miles quickly pulled out the box of shotgun shells, reloading it as fast as he could before the other monsters—which were now circling around the room—could reach him. The second he finished reloading, he aimed up to shoot the nearest beast. But he was too late; it already swung its mattress-body and rammed into his head again. He stumbled backwards, hitting the wall and crying out in agony as the pain shot through his veins for the thousandth time. One eye clenched shut from the pain; the untrained fox pointed the weapon at the monster's torso and fired. This monster couldn't keep its grip as long as the first and fell to the floor. Before it could begin to crawl towards him, Miles fired at its fallen body. It screamed and dropped face first into the ground.

'_2 More._ _5 Shells left. 2 or 3 shells per monster…_' he didn't have time to finish calculating. Swiftly the two remaining monsters moved in on him. Before he could even re-aim the shotgun, the farthest one shot its long tongue at him. Like before, he was able to side step out of the way, but this time it wrapped around his neck, lifting him into the air. Miles dropped the shotgun and tried desperately with both hands to unwrap the tongue before it choked him to death.

Through his gasps for air, Miles realized the creature was reeling its tongue in like a fishing rod, bringing him closer and closer to its opened mouth. Just seeing down its dead, dry throat gave him enough inspiration to pull its coiled tongue loose enough for him to drop through. He fell to the floor and instantly dived for the shotgun, landing right next to it and grabbing the handle. Right when he did, he felt the second monster's tongue wrap around his ankle. Immediately he aimed up and fired at the beast not too far up and in front of him, causing it to scream in pain and loosen its tongue. He took that time to fire again. Sprinkles of blood flew everywhere as it dropped to the floor like the two before it and immediately charged at him. He fired a third time, blowing its head off with the burst. It fell down and died.

'_One left…_'

He looked up behind him and saw it was almost right above him. It shot its tongue down at him, missing him by a hair before he rolled out of the way. Once he stopped, he aimed and shot it down with his second to last shell. Once it fell to the floor, it charged at him, letting out a final roar before he turned the shotgun around and swung it like a bat. The handle of the gun slammed into its head, shattering its skull and sending it rolling to the floor beside him, dead for good.

The room went almost completely silent once again, the only noise being his heavy panting.

"I did it…" he said, surprised that he managed to survive the fight. Clutching his now aching arm, he got up and looked around the room, trying to figure out how to get out of the place now. "I swear, when I get my hands on that bitch—"

__

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Sirens.

He felt a strange tingle arise in the back of his head, which instantly grew into a huge, blindingly painful migraine. He clutched his head with his dirty gloved hands, groaning loudly as the worst headache in his entire life overcame him.

"Ahhhhh!!! My head!!" he cried in agony, falling back to his knees. "I…I can't……_AHHHHHHH!!!_"

His whole body fell to the floor, sirens screaming along with the pain into his ears all the way down. Unconsciousness took him over, and suddenly the whole world around him started shifting; blood flowing down the walls, furniture being crushed by unknown weight, the floor cracking and crumbling as piping burst out of it like rusted sunflowers.

Miles couldn't see it, but he was now being pushed down the decimated bloodbath of a hospital hallway on a cart, all kinds of medical equipment surrounding him. In the distance, Sonic's voice was barely audible.

"_Tails!_" the hedgehog cried, his terror and worry combining into one panicked voice. "_No! Please don't die on me! Don't give up Tails! Tails! Tails! Tails! Tails! Tails!_"

But Miles couldn't hear it anymore. He couldn't hear _anything_ anymore but the sound of his own screaming. It filled his mind, silence-shattering screams of pain and horror, as he was slowly being pushed into a world of darkness.


	11. A World of Darkness

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 11: A World of Darkness

------

"_W…where am I?_"

Silently, the wind blew though the green grass of the open plain. The sky was a clear vivid blue sea. From far away, the pleasant chirping of the many unseen birds could be heard. What appeared to be butterflies fluttered about in the small patches of flowers planted in random areas along the field. Such a calm place this was, a world he wished he could just lie in for hours…

The field seemed to have no end; just endless green grass in all directions as far as the eye could see. Only one physical feature appeared different from everything else: a steep independent green hill only about fifty meters away from where the blue-eyed kitsune stood now. It was strange, but something told him to go there. It was instinct, he guessed. Didn't matter what - he just knew he had to see what was on top of that hill. His legs received their commands, and he began to sprint across the gap between himself and the mound. It didn't take very long; in seconds he was ascending the slope.

"Tails!"

The voice was familiar, very familiar. Miles looked upwards and his eyes lit up with joy.

"Sonic!"

At the top of the hill stood the blue hedgehog he'd been looking for all this time, the blue hedgehog he'd loved and lost far too soon. Still with that innocent smile, still with those beautiful eyes, Sonic stood not too far away from him.

"You're alive!" Tails yelled, giving Sonic the biggest grin he gave in years. He sped up into an even faster sprint. "Sonic! I can't believe it! I never thought I'd see you again! I missed you so much!" Sonic still stood on top of the hill, waiting, as the fox came closer and closer to him. Tears of happiness welled up in his eyes.

It was a happiness that quickly faded away.

Tails realized, though he was running as fast as he could up the hill, he wasn't moving very quickly, and eventually wasn't moving anywhere. Sonic stared at him, a look of saddened confusion painted on his beautiful eyes. Tails wasn't only not ascending the hill, but now he was slowly sinking _downwards_.

"No!" he cried, feeling equally confused. "Sonic!"

Tears of sadness began to grow over Sonic's eyeballs. "Why wont you come to me?"

"I'm trying!" Tails shouted, right before he tripped and fell. Fallen, he looked back up at Sonic. He could still see him there, but now he was even farther away.

"Tails…why?" the hedgehog questioned. His voice shaking. "Why are you running?"

"N-no! This cant…"

Miles couldn't finish as suddenly he couldn't see; the sky had gone pitch black. His vision came back in a hellish tint as the whole field around them then burst into flames, leaving nothing but the hill itself untouched by the burning death.

The soft green grass was gone, replaced by dark wet dirt and mud. Miles realized that was why he was slipping away—he couldn't keep a firm ground any longer on the slick earth. He continued sliding down, realizing that he was going to slide right into the flames at the foot of the hill if he didn't do something quickly.

"No!"

Sinking lower and lower, only a few feet from the ghostly flames, Miles desperately searched for a good footing before it was too late. Luckily for him, he managed to keep a firm grasp on a piece of the wet dirt, instantly digging his foot into the ground below. It worked, and he managed to stay still just in time – the flames were so close to the soles of his shoes they were almost melting away.

He grabbed onto the muddy dirt a bit higher with his free hand, and did the same with his other foot. He slowly continued to climb up the hill, his body becoming slick with mud and grime all the way up. After a few minutes, the exhausted fox finally reached the top.

"Sonikku…" he whispered, climbing back to his feet. "I made it…"

But Sonic wasn't there anymore; he'd disappeared a long time ago. In his place stood Shadow, whose lips, torso, and hands were dabbled in a thick layer of crimson.

His blood?

"Shadow!?" Miles's jaw dropped.

Shadow's head was slumped down, looking upon his scratched up multicolored boots. Slowly he looked up; staring directly into Miles's soul with an insanely wide grin spread across his face. His once white and perfect clean teeth were now red canines.

"Miles…" Shadow croaked, his voice sounding even darker and creepier than usual.

The fox glanced at Shadow's blood-coated fur, his heartbeat multiplying rapidly. Something felt very very wrong. Eyes wide, he took a step backwards. "W-what did you do to Sonic?"

"You don't have to worry about Sonic anymore." Shadow flashed an even wider crimson grin as he looked at Miles with murderous eyes. He raised his bloody gloved hand to his mouth and licked the crimson red off of his fingers.

"_What the fuck did you do!!?_" Miles screamed with alarming abruptness.

Shadow didn't reply. Instead, he wiped blood off of his torso and smeared it onto Miles's white, fury chest. Miles opened his mouth to scream again, but was interrupted as the hedgehog suddenly kissed him hard, sliding his bloody tongue into his own mouth. Miles screamed into Shadow's mouth as he tasted Sonic's blood. Putting his hands to Shadow's chest, he shoved as hard as he could. Shadow stumbled backwards and suddenly shattered like a mirror. Glass-like pieces of the hedgehog fell to the floor, some flying at Miles and cutting deeply into his flesh. The tiny shots of pain took him by surprise, and before he knew it he was reeling backwards, losing his footing again and falling. He rolled down the hill, covered in blood and muddy dirt, screaming the whole way down until he rolled right into the flames. Flesh and fur burning away, nerves exploding with agony, Miles realized with horrid awakening that he was being burnt alive.

'_NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!_'

---

"_NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!_" His body was covered not with melded flesh and fur, but sweat when he shot up out of the bed in a screaming mess. Quickly he curled into a ball and started muttering to himself, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to force their way out of his body. He stayed that way for only a few seconds before he realized it was only a dream.

"Whoa…man…" he rubbed his hand this his scalp once again, shaking and trying to understand what had just happened. "Sonic Hill…was it all…just a nightmare?"

Reaching behind him, he placed his hand on his back, wincing as the pain shot through his veins again.

Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…

Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…

Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…

His dark blue eyes stared down at his hand. The glove was still stained with his own blood, and the green sludge from the drainage pipe.

"N-no…" he stated conclusively. Looking to his side, he saw the shotgun—still with a small dent in its side from when Pyramid Head tried to cut him in half—laying right next to him. That nightmare he just woke up from wasn't real, but this one sure was. "How long have I been unconscious?"

Putting his hand to his head, he reran the past events through his mind. The hospital, Shadow, finding Amy…the last thing he remembered was falling unconscious in that room after being attacked by those monsters…

"…wait a second, where am I?"

With his arms still wrapped around his body, Miles vaguely searched the area for any signs of familiarity. There were none. He was in a strange, dark concrete square about fifteen feet long and wide. The tall barren walls were a very dark shade of gray, except the wall in front of the carted hospital bed he sat on. There was a set of old metal double doors there, with paint chipping off and signs of rust far past beginning to show. Miles looked up, surprised to see the sky right above him.

It wasn't foggy. Instead, it was as black as the starless night.

"What happened?" he asked as he crawled out of bed, much to the dismay of his sleeping leg muscles. The only place he could think of that he might be in was outside the hospital, in the garden. But from the looks of the map earlier, the garden was _a lot _bigger than this.

Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…

Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…

That weird noise sounded in the distance for the third time. Just hearing the insane beat made him feel uneasy. Even more so than he was now.

'_I got to get out of here………Sonikku…_'

Depression took over his mind once again as he remembered everything he still had to do before he could leave He had to get back to Shadow, then try and find Amy again, and _then _maybe he'd have a chance of leaving. There wasn't much of a choice. Miles grabbed onto the shotgun and pumped it, remembering he only had one shell left. Somehow, he had a feeling he'd need a lot more than that. Whatever happened when he was unconscious didn't look like it was for the better, and he'd only gotten more endless questions in his mind since he'd found Amy. Had she really gotten a letter from Sonic? How come he didn't hear about her beforehand? Who the hell put him in the bed in the first place? And why would they just move him outside?

After stretching his legs, he grabbed the bag and refastened the side-pack. Shotgun in hand, he opened the hospital double doors and walked back into the building.

'_…what the fuck!?_'

He was back in the C Corridor, if he remembered the map correctly, but it looked nothing like it did when he entered the place a while ago. The floor was gone, completely, replaced by gray-ish red metal grating. Underneath the grating was nothing but endless blackness, as if the room was hovering over a bottomless pit. Not only that, but also the walls and the ceiling were filled with bullet holes, scratches, and even some stains of what had to be blood. And then the smell filled his nostrils, the awful stench of gasoline and most of all dead flesh, much stronger than it had been before. The little furniture that had been in the hallway before was now broken, shattered into strips of dead wood and metal. It looked like there had been a miniature war inside the place when he was gone.

'_Jesus…_'

The dirty soles of his shoes clinked against the metal grating as he walked across it, trying to figure out what to do first. Maybe it would be best to check the corridor's rooms first to see how different things had become entirely. Then he could take the elevator back to the third floor and get back to S3—if Shadow was there at all anymore. Worry replaced the fear in his heart, and he began to wonder if the handsome hedgehog was okay…

The door to C4 was locked, which destroyed Miles hopes that the doors that had been unlocked beforehand had stayed that way. How much had really changed? He soon found that all the other doors in the hallway were locked too, including the one to the first floor main hallway.

"Ugh…" he turned and walked to the elevator, hoping it'd work. If it didn't, he was screwed. Going and picking up Shadow first seems like the best option. Even though that nightmare made him feel even more uncomfortable about the hedgehog than before, it was only a nightmare. Besides, Shadow was currently his only ally in the whole place.

Miles was happy to find the elevator still worked and walked into it, pressing the third floor button once he spotted it. The elevator began to rise up, stopping a lot faster than he expected. Looking at the level indicator on the top of the door, he noticed the second little green light was lit up, not the third. The doors opened wide, revealing the M Corridor. The radio static went off, alerting him of the nurse demons within the hall.

"Hey!" Miles exclaimed, pressing the third floor button again. Nothing happened. "What the hell?"

Looked like he'd have to find another way to get to the third floor. Great. Sighing in annoyance, he stepped into the hallway and shined his flashlight down both ends. Like the first floor, the corridor looked like a war zone. The metal grating was replaced by simple flooring though, which he didn't mind at all. A nurse demon was only a few yards away from where he was standing, its tattered and torn body reaching out for him. Shouldering the shotgun, Miles took aim. A second before he was going to pull the trigger he remembered he only had one shell left.

Lowering the gun, Miles sidestepped out of the way just in time to avoid a swing from the nurse's steel pipe. He turned and ran away, moving quickly up the M Corridor and trying to figure out where to go. If he took the door at the end of the corridor into the 2nd Floor Main Hall, he might be able to take the main hall stairs up to the third floor and then walk into the S Corridor.

Another nurse stood in his path to the door; pipe raised and ready to smash his head in. It missed him though as Miles ran around it, squeezing in between the nurse and the right wall just in time to evade it. He reached the end of the hall and grabbed the handle of the left door that lead into the 2nd Floor Main Hall, only to find it was locked.

"Shit." He muttered. "No good."

The nurse not far down the hall let out a moan and began to move towards him, its legs bending in any direction it pleased. Miles looked around the end of the hall he was in, trying to find another way to get out. He spotted and tried the door a few feet away from the locked one—the door to the day room which he hadn't entered even before the place got even weirder—to find it was unlocked. He pushed into the room quickly, shutting the door behind him and looking around.

Aside from a large refrigerator lying on its back on the floor, there was no furniture in the whole room. It was much larger than any other room he'd been to in the hospital, which made him feel a bit less claustrophobic. In the back was a door, which according to the map led to another part of the 2nd Floor Main Hall - just what he was hoping for. He began to walk across the large open room, but stopped when he reached the refrigerator.

He was becoming nonchalant about strange item and furniture placement by now, but something was weird about the fridge. Curiosity got the best of him and he grabbed the handle, wanting to see the contents inside. Using all his strength, he tried to open the heavy door, but failed to. It was too heavy for him to lift. Shrugging, he decided it really wasn't important anyway and walked to the door. It was locked on the other side, but opening it from this end unlocked it.

The 2nd Floor Main Hall was trashed, not to Miles's surprise. Three nurse demons were in the hall with him, but they were easy to dodge since there was a lot more space in the room than in the patient corridors. He opened the door to the stairway and ran up the steps till he reached the third floor.

A burst of static from the radio echoed down the 3rd Floor Main Hall as he entered it, but he went across the hall and through the S Corridor too fast to really care about what was inside. The S Corridor had a few monsters in it too, but none of them blocked his short path to S3. He stopped at the door, grabbing the handle and turning to open it into the new room.

"…Shadow?"

The room was empty. There were no traces the hedgehog had even been there except for the empty medicine capsule on the table.

'_Where'd he go…?_'

Worry clouded his mind again, even more than before. Honestly, he wasn't very surprised the hedgehog was no longer there. He had no idea how long he was asleep, but it was a good guess it was a lot more than ten minutes, and he'd been away for over an hour before he fell unconscious anyway. Shadow had probably gotten worried and come after him…and with Pyramid Head walking around…

'_Oh god…this isn't good._'

Along with Shadow, the pipe was missing too, which meant he was probably walking around with it. That was good, at least if he ran into nurses—and it seemed impossible for him not to—he could defend himself. But regardless of that this place was extremely dangerous to be walking around alone and without a gun.

That same feeling of admiration for the mysterious crimson-eyed one collided with Miles's thoughts. He really wasn't sure how he felt on the whole matter. Shadow thus far had been the kindest being he had the pleasure to meet since…well…since he met Sonic. Not to mention the fact that he had still been his only real ally since he entered the town. But something about him…it reminded him so much of his "deceased" blue boyfriend. And that scared him. Maybe not as much as the monsters and creatures roaming the streets did, but it scared him. It was a whole different level of fear.

Miles shook his head, trying not to get lost in his own thoughts. Petty things like that didn't matter right now – what really mattered was finding Shadow, and then Amy, and _then _Sonic. He'd gotten way off track, but he couldn't just leave the hospital now.

'_I hope Shadow's okay…_' he said a silent prayer that the hedgehog really was, and left the room.

---_Later…_---

-**_BANG!_**

The nurse's body fell to the floor; spazming for a few seconds before Miles kicked it in the ribs. Its short life ended as it died from blood loss half an hour later, but Miles didn't know that, for he had already left the hall later on, after it had lost consciousness. The young fox had been searching the hospital from the top back to the bottom, retracing his steps. Searching the third floor have proven to be useless aside from two discoveries:

One: There was a painting of an angel covering the Corridor Stairway door, which hadn't been there before. Its point of interest was its thin marble arm, which stuck out of the painting like a statue. Around each of its fingers was this strange foreign writing. He didn't see the point behind it, or why it would cover the stairway, but it stood out obscenely from the rest of the hospital.

And two: He had spotted two boxes of shotgun shells in the storeroom, bringing him to believe maybe he wasn't completely out of luck after all. With that added, he had twelve shells left—two had been used during his fruitless search of the S Corridor, and the other one had been used just now in the 2nd Floor M Corridor. Though he was wearing several pounds of equipment on him now, he felt a lot more confident having a decent amount of ammo for once.

The hospital wasn't _only_ infested with nurses now either. He had run into a straight jacket monster in the storeroom, and two more in S11, and that seemed to be a premonition that he'd run into a lot more as the day (or was it night?) progressed. Good thing for him those monsters were even less immune to the shotgun's immense power than the nurses were.

M1 through M3 were locked, but M4 wasn't now. A search of that room had proved useless too, and after finding M5 was also locked, Miles was worried he might finally be shit out of luck when it comes to finding useful things. That idea scared him too.

The door to M6 opened though, to his relief. A small pang of fear hit his heart as he remembered what happened when he and Shadow had come in there and gotten injured earlier, but the feeling was soon forgotten. Something else had caught his interest already.

There was a hole in the left wall of the dark room. Well, not exactly a hole, but there was a large thin chunk of the gray wallpaper missing. Where there was no wall, he saw, was another wall behind it, with very disturbing images painted onto it. At first glance he couldn't tell what it was, but as he looked closer it illustrated itself clearly enough.

A sea of hundredsof tiny white hands, all reaching up to something the top part of the wall was covering. Between each hand was only blackness, like someone had painted them onto black walling. Only about two feet of the second wall was missing, so Miles could only fathom how many hands there really were. It looked like the hospital workers had intentionally covered up this first wall, leaving Miles to wonder if one of the patients had done this. He wasn't sure, and he would never know.

Written sloppily on a piece of lined paper stapled beside the hole in the wall was a memo.

'**_I was locked up inside the basement's basement. It was so small and dark and I was so afraid. I got out by pressing the buttons on some machine. I dropped my precious ring, and I saw a door. But I will never ever go back there._**'

"Basement's basement?" Miles asked out loud. The hospital's basement was on the map, yet he hadn't gone down there earlier since the gate covered it. And he sure as hell didn't want to go now. But...unless he found something of use in here, he had no other choice. Normal basements creeped him out enough, and the hospital wasn't likely to have a pretty one judging from the way it looks now.

'_But that's the only place I haven't checked yet…I have to go._' Miles thought to himself. '_There should be a storeroom down there, maybe there will be some keys to other parts of the hospital or something. But what's this "basement's basement"?_'

He guessed it'd make sense once he got there, at least as much sense as it can anyway. Having a goal to reach was better than aimlessly running around the place and wasting ammo. He checked out the rest of the room, as usual coming up with nothing else of use, so he left.

The 2nd Floor Corridor took him right to the basement, giving the fox a simple trip. When it reached the bottom, the doors opened to reveal only blackness again. A blackness that was quickly cut through by Miles's still powerful flashlight. The basement was relatively simple looking – all it was mostly was a C shaped hallway, with one door in the middle and three or four doors around the end. To his relief the static didn't go off, meaning the hall was safe.

'_Wait a second…_' the ceiling of the hallway looked…well, normal. That was odd – he could have sworn it looked like a bottomless pit almost underneath the metal grating of the C Corridor earlier…he didn't even want to wrap his mind around the thought. He shook his head and moved forward.

His footsteps echoed down the short hallway as he moved across the even shorter distance between the elevator door and the middle section door of the hallway. According to the map it was the storeroom, which was the only room of real interest to him – if he didn't have to go into the boiler room or electrical room he'd have no problem with that. He pushed the door open, happy that it wasn't locked.

The storeroom, at first glance, actually looked kind of normal. All there was were a few large shelves full of random junk, and a decent amount of open space from the door to them. Better start searching.

And so, Miles began vaguely looking through each box and shining his light down every nook and cranny of the shelves, coming up with absolutely nothing worthwhile. That was, until he spotted a smaller box with a large dry-cell battery on it. He hadn't really thought about it till now, but he'd been using the flashlight an awful lot since he came to the town, and considering he didn't even know how long it was turned on before he found it, it was pretty likely it would run out of battery just in time to fuck him over. He grabbed the battery and shoved it down his empty left fur-pocket, then continued looking for stuff.

Five minutes later, his search—like it had been so far of the rest of the hospital—had been fruitless. Sighing, Miles turned around and contemplated what his next move should be. That didn't last very long though. On the floor by the shelf by the door was what looked like bloody fingerprints. Great. That sure made him feel more comfortable about the place.

But the way the fingerprints were left on the wooden shelve suggested someone had tried to move it or…something. He looked down to the bottom of the shelf and noticed the edge of something metal underneath it, but he couldn't tell what it was. It looked like it might be a trapdoor or—

'_—the basement's basement._' Miles remembered the note from only a few minutes ago. Did the man mean a second basement underneath this one? He had mentioned a door…

Miles walked up to the shelf and put his shoulder to it, trying to ignore the small amount of blood sticking to his orange fur. He leaned in and began to push, slowly moving the shelf out of the way…

-_SLAM!_

He almost jumped out of his fur as the door slammed only a few feet away. Looking up, for a moment he saw Sonic standing in the doorway. He thought it was, anyway, until his mind correctly processed that it was actually Shadow. The hedgehog's black fur was even more ruffled and messed up than before. In his hand he held the bloody steel pipe, showing he'd been through several battles while the fox was away.

"Shadow!" Miles called, feeling extremely relieved but feeling a slight hint of fear in the darkest depths of his mind.

"Miles…" Shadow said grimly, the expression on his face not that of happiness nor relief. "Why didn't you come back?"

Miles smile turned into a frown as he recalled the promise he'd made to the hedgehog earlier. "I'm sorry." He reached his hand out to put it on Shadow's shoulder. "I tried, but I couldn't. I'm glad you're alright though." He looked to the shelf. "Anyway, I—"

"_Anyway!?_" Shadow screamed for the first time, startling the young fox as he smacked his hand out of the way. The look on his face told him immediately that he was very, very angry. "What do you mean _anyway_!!?" he extended his arm and pointed at the door. "I almost got _killed_ back there! Why didn't you come back!?"

Guilt flooded Miles's heart as he realized that he must have really hurt the hedgehog's feelings, if not almost gotten him killed. "Shadow, I—"

But Shadow cut him off again before he could finish, tears welling up in his eyes but the anger still staying true. "All you care about is that stupid boyfriend of yours!" He shouted, clenching his eyes shut and reopening them to give Miles a despairing look. "I've never been so _scared_ in my whole life!"

Miles bit his lip. He didn't know what to say. From all the stuff he'd said and done, he hadn't stopped to consider that Shadow might feel a bit insignificant around him.

"You always compare me to him…" Shadow cried, the anger in his voice gone completely now and replaced by sadness. Tears began to flow down his face, making his dimly lit pale skin look even more awkward than before. "You _always _compare me to him…you couldn't care less about me - don't give a fuck about anyone else but him and yourself, huh!?"

"No." Miles said, looking down at the floor. "That's not true, Shadow…I'm sorry…I tried to get back, but I got…off track…"

He stared into the hedgehog's crimson eyes again, the guilt swallowing him up even more. The hedgehog wiped the tears away from his face and sniffled, staring back at the fox. His large crimson eyes looked away from Miles, the pained betrayed look fading away.

"We have to save them…"

"What?"

"Sonic…and Amy…" Shadow's voice was almost the same as it had seemed to be earlier on that day, but it still held that barely sustained sadness in it. He looked back into the two-tailed fox's azure blue eyes, his voice still breaking but finally calming down. "And we have to get out of here…"

"Yeah…" Miles agreed, trailing off. Shadow had just done a 180 in his mood, but he didn't mind that now. It was better than being yelled at. "I ran into Amy, but…she got away."

"Miles…" Shadow got an expression on his face that made the fox think he was going to say something but decided not to. Eventually though, he spoke again. "Stay with me. Please, don't ever leave me alone again…"

Something horrible must have happened when he was unconscious, Miles knew, and as bad as it had been for him it was probably a lot worse for the shaken hedgehog. He was still at a loss of words. The look Shadow gave him made him really not want to ever leave him alone again. That helpless innocent look was so familiar… and Miles soon realized it was the same look Sonic had given him every day during the painful period of time after Sonic had gotten sick, and before he…he…

"Shadow…"


	12. Run Away Run Away Run Away Run Away Run ...

****

**Sonic Hill 2: DX**

**Chapter 12: Run Away Run Away Run Away Run Away Run Away**

------

"…okay." Miles bit his lip again, afraid to say the wrong thing at every turn. "No more splitting up, no matter what."

Sniffling again, Shadow asked. "You promise?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I promise, and I won't mess up this time."

Shadow wiped his eyes again and gave the fox a warm smile. That smile relieved him to no end. "Thank you Miles."

"No problem." Miles smiled back; seeing Shadow's kind expression return eased him. Reaching into the side-pack, he pulled out the handgun and held it out to the hedgehog. "Listen Shadow, it's way too dangerous to be walking around here without a weapon. This doesn't have any ammo left in it, but…"

"Sure it does." Shadow said as he pulled out a handgun clip and flashed it before the other male's eyes, grinning proudly with his usual expression returning. "I found this in S9."

The mood of the conversation had changed completely, and Miles liked that. He grinned. "That's good. If we stick together as a team like this, we'll fare a lot better against those demons." Shadow nodded with complaisance. "Did you find anything else?"

"Yeah, but…I don't think it's very important." Shadow put his hand and his other pocket, pulling it back out and showing the item in his palm: a thick, silver ring. "It kinda just…seemed out of place, so I took it…oh yeah, there's some weird writing on the inside of it too."

Miles took a closer look at the ring and noticed the hedgehog spoke no lies: there was some foreign writing on its inner rim. Something about that writing though looked familiar…

"Interesting…" Miles said. He had a feeling it'd be useful somehow, but he had more important matters to discuss. "But more importantly: What the hell happened here since we split up? Do you know?"

Shadow paused for a few seconds, seeming to think of how to respond and finally shook his head. "I dunno. I fell unconscious."

"You too, huh?"

"Yeah."

"That's so weird…" Miles crossed his arms and glanced around the room, surveying the place for the third time as if he was trying to make sure it was real. "I don't understand what's going on in this town. At first it seemed to make at least _some _sense, but…"

"Now this mental hospital really _is _mental, eh?" Shadow joked nervously.

"Amy's gone now…" Miles frowned sullenly. "Maybe that's sort of a good thing. It's even less safe for a girl to be around here than before…Shadow, I think what's most important now is getting out of this building."  
  
"Right." Shadow agreed. "But the doors to the main hallway are locked now, so…"

"There's got to be a key to it somewhere." The fox said. He glanced at the shelf beside him. It was still there, forgotten during the conversation but never ceasing to exist. There was that weird metal thing underneath it…"There's something underneath this."

"What?"

Miles put his shoulder to the shelf and began to push, grunting a little as he and the wooden piece of furniture slid across the floor. A few loud noises later, Miles stopped pushing and looked down at what revealed itself.

"…a trapdoor?"

Kneeling down, Miles grabbed the handle of the trapdoor and pulled it open. Darkness flooded the area below.

'_Is this the bottomless pit?_' he shined the flashlight into the darkness, revealing gray cement flooring below. '_No…no it's not…_'

"What happened to you?"

"Huh?" Miles looked up at Shadow, who stared down at him with a horrified look on his face.

"Y-your back." Shadow kneeled down next to him, hovering his dirty gloved hand over the bloodstained bandages on Miles's back. "Jesus, what the hell happened?"

"Pyramid Head." Miles stated coldly.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Miles jumped down into the room before the anthro could ask any more questions. His feet landed on the cement, sending small sparks of pain through his legs, which faded away as quickly as they came. He looked around the dark room, feeling a bit weirded out at how eager he was to enter the place. Had he been in a similar place when he first entered the town, he would have been terrified of the thought of it.

He scanned the room, finding that it was actually quite small and cramped, about the same size of the storeroom. It was extremely stuffy, like it hadn't been entered or cleaned out in a very long time. Cobwebs coated the walls and ceiling, along with quite a few small black spiders. This was the first time he'd seen any bugs in the town, he realized.

'_I guess this is the basement's basement that note was talking about…_'

A bolted steel door lie a few feet ahead of him, dusty and rusted. Something about it felt very intimidating – it was a lot older and more classic looking than all of the other doors in the hospital. Almost seemed like it was meant more for a castle dungeon than anything else…

"Are you alright?" Shadow called from above. Miles looked upwards, staring up at the worried hedgehog.

"Yeah…" Miles scanned the room a second time. "A note told me about this place. It's dusty, but safe."

"I don't think it's safe _anywhere_ in this town."

"Relax." Miles stared forward at the door. "There's a door down here."

"Is it locked?" He grabbed the door handle and tried to turn, only to find it held still. "Damnit…" he muttered. Looking back up at Shadow, he replied. "Yeah." 

"Come back up here then!"

"Alright." Miles frowned. That door was their last opening he had hoped for, and unless Shadow had a key or something, they were stuck. He turned around and looked at the back wall for the third time. "Uh oh…"

"What?"

"There's no ladder."

"Damnit. Hold on, I'll grab you." Shadow began to reach into the hole. Try as he might, he couldn't stretch it far enough to get even anywhere close to Miles's hand. "Shit…"

Miles noticed something on the back wall he hadn't before – what looked like a 1'x1' metal control panel of some sort.

'"**_…I got out by pressing the buttons on some machine._** **_I dropped my precious ring, and I saw a door. But I will never, ever go back there._**"' Miles remembered the note had said.

"Wait a second, I think I've got it figured out."

Walking up to the control panel, he noticed there were ten small lights horizontally across the middle of the panel. Only three of them were glowing, and two were broken completely. Thought they were lights, they looked a lot like buttons at the same time. Miles pressed his index finger on the button-light the farthest to the left. It sunk into the panel and shut off, while two other lights on the panel sparked with light again.

"Interesting…"

He continued to press the buttons at random, always causing some to shut off and others to turn back on. It looked kind of like those classic spaceship blinky lights he'd seen on TV, almost. After a few seconds of random button pressing, all the lights except for the two broken ones lit up. The sound of small metal moving was heard, and Miles looked to the bottom of the panel to see a hole had opened up. He kneeled down a bit and looked into the hole, seeing a large red button inside. He pressed the button, and a soft whir reverberated throughout the small room. He turned and grinned with accomplishment as he saw a ladder had produced itself from the pressing of the button, leading back up into the storeroom.

"How'd you do that?" Shadow asked from above.

"Just another puzzle." Miles said, feeling a lot smarter than he did a minute ago. He proceeded to move towards the ladder until he noticed something reflecting off light from his flashlight.

"Hey, wait. There _is_ something down here." He said.

"What?"

Kneeling down, Miles picked up the item, not too surprised to find it was a brown copper ring. On the inner rim was more strange handwriting, just like on Shadow's silver ring…

"Another ring." Miles looked up at Shadow. "Do you think there are any more of these?"

Shadow shrugged. "I dunno."

'_That statue, on the third floor…_' Miles contemplated the idea. '_It had this same kinda writing around its fingers…maybe it—_'

"Could you please get the hell out of there now?" Shadow cried from above, derailing his train of thought. Grasping the bars of the ladder, Miles climbed back up into the storeroom.

"Here." Miles said as he held out the ring. "You hold it for now."

"Why?"

"I think we'll need it."

Shadow raised an eyebrow, but nodded in agreement. The idea of that was weird, but he seemed to understand. Miles pulled the shotgun out from behind him and grasped it tightly. "You ready to go?"

"You bet." Shadow flashed him another benign smile, again reminding Miles of how glad he was that they weren't separated anymore. Together again, the two comrades exited the storeroom.

---_Later…_---

So, Shadow and Miles began their trek back through the hospital floors, taking the elevator back to the second floor and moving through the M Corridor, evading the two nurses which seemed to reappear there since before. The day room was just the same as Miles remembered on his way down to the basement: nothing but that mysterious fridge lay on its floor. Miles passed by it when he remembered he couldn't open it before and looked to Shadow.

"Shadow, wait." He said, looking down on the fridge. "Could you help me with this?"

The hedgehog looked at the fridge and, rather than asking any questions, nodded. "Sure."

He stopped at the fridge right beside Miles and together they grasped the large handle and pulled with all their might. After some strain, the door finally began to pull open. It was a lot easier after that, and they quickly opened the fridge all the way, feeling its cool interior spread out across their faces.

The fridge was empty, except for some frozen metal in the back…

Miles picked up the object and realized it was a key. The letter 'E' written on it. Things just got weirder and weirder…

"The E Corridor?" So far the only places they'd checked out in the hospitals were the main halls, the C M and S corridors, and the basement. Looks like they'd be able to check out more of the place, which meant only more key finding, more fruitless searching, and more monsters.

"That's next to the C Corridor, right?" Shadow asked. Miles nodded.

"Before we go though, there's something I want to check out again on the third floor."

"Alright."

Leaving the fridge door open, they walked out of the day room and into the second floor main hallway, taking the main hall stairway to the third floor. The roof and first floor were blocked off now by that stairway, Miles knew, which is why he didn't bother to try going down to the first floor via that route. Shadow seemed to know too, and the fox wasn't surprised; Shadow had been awake a lot longer than he had apparently.

The S Corridor was still devoid of demons thankfully, so they had no problem reaching the angel painting in the middle of the hall covering the corridor stairway door. It's 3D arm stuck out of the painting, just like Miles remembered. He looked to Shadow. "I think those rings belong here." He said, pointing at its four fingers and thumb.

Shadow pulled out the silver and copper ring and slid it onto the angel's fingers, hearing a click both times. Nothing happened though, and it hit him that they'd need the other three rings before…well, before whatever would happen when they put them back where they belong would happen.

"There's gotta be three other rings…" Shadow said, glancing at Miles. "But I've been everywhere here, and I haven't seen any others. You think they're in the other part of the hospital?"

"Yes." Miles said, looking back down the hall. "Let's go."

Together Miles and Shadow ran back down to the M Corridor, took the elevator to the C Corridor, and headed for the E Corridor door. The D corridor wasn't on the map for some reason, but he didn't really care. Nervously, the young fox slid the key into the lock and unlocked the door, pushing it open into the new room.

It felt strange, finally entering a different hallway in the hospital rather than constantly backtracking, and it made both of them feel uneasy, since they knew even less about this place than any other. While the C Corridor had that strange metal grating, the floor looked relatively normal in this corridor. The place led down about thirty feet, then branched out in two directions. There were doors on both walls, unlike in the other three corridors. Miles wondered how many patients there really were in this hellhole. The town wasn't that big or populated, yet the hospital was gigantic. That was just another thing on his list of things that made him feel uneasy about Sonic Hill.

Also unlike the other corridors, this one's lights were working. Miles and Shadow didn't mind that at all. Miles turned off his flashlight for the first time since he'd woken up and said to Shadow: "Let's check out these rooms. Same formation as usual, okay?"

"Okay."

So they moved slowly down the corridor, Shadow checking the doors while Miles walked beside him, shotgun raised and ready for any unfortunate monsters that stumbled across their path. The first unlocked door they found was E3. They moved in.

It was another standard room, holding within it a bed and a small table. On the right wall was a desk, which had a piece of paper laying flat on it right next to a handgun clip.

Shadow grabbed the clip and shoved it down his pocket, happy to find more ammo for his gun. Two full clips - that meant thirty bullets. That should last them long enough. Miles stood beside him, eyes transfixed on the piece of paper before him.

"What is it?" Shadow asked. Miles felt another strange nervousness as he stared at the content on the paper. Nothing was written on it, except two black bold words typed up in the very middle of it.

'**Run Away.**'

"Weird…" Miles said. Yet another thing to add to his uneasy list. That message was nothing compared to the one written on the paper underneath it. Miles slid the first paper out of the way and read the second one, his eyes widening in horror.

'**Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away. Run Away.**'

Miles dropped the paper and backed away quickly, startling Shadow.

"Whoa, relax." Shadow said to Miles, looking slightly worried. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah…" Miles said. Who the hell would type _that_ up? It was like in that one movie he saw, almost. He couldn't remember the name though…shaking his head, he looked to Shadow. "Just…this whole thing is getting to me."

"I can understand." Shadow agreed. Many probably would have lost their minds to maddened terror by now.

"T-there's nothing of use left here. Let's get out."

"Right."

The second Miles and Shadow opened the door and walked out, the radio screamed with life. Two nurses were on Shadow's immediate right, pipes already ascending to slam down upon his skull. This time though he was prepared and a split second later his gun was drawn and the closer nurse was on the floor, spazming in its own blood. The second one followed right after it, but the radio static didn't shut off. Shadow soon found out why as he heard Miles's shotgun go off and he turned—spotting several straightjacket monsters on his way there—to see the shorter anthro shoot down another nurse.

They were _everywhere_; nurses and straightjacket monsters littered the whole hallway, all limping towards them in a swarm. He didn't understand. How did they all get here so _fast_? Before Shadow could even begin to contemplate how, Miles grabbed his hand and they were running.

They stopped very quickly around the corner of the T shaped corridor, horrified as they ran into only more straightjacket monsters blocking the left hallway. Already the nurses and other straightjacket monsters were limping not too far behind them. They were surrounded.

Miles looked at Shadow, and Shadow looked right back, knowing what they had to do. Quickly they went back-to-back, raising their weapons and opening fire on the creatures. Two nurses fell down dead, simultaneously being hit by a single blast from Miles's shotgun; the nurse right behind them only lived a second longer before it too was torn down by the weapon. Meanwhile, Shadow unloaded his handgun clip into seven straightjacket monsters, relieved to see them fall but terrified to see only more behind them. Static from the radio continued to scream into their speeding thoughts, combining with the screams from the monsters and the roar of their guns.

"Shit!" Miles cried when his shotgun let out an empty click, knowing that he had to reload with his last box or they'd both be done for. At lightning speed he pulled the box of shotgun shells out of his bag and desperately tried to reload as the nearest nurse stumbled closer and closer. He took too long, and the nurse raised its pipe to clobber him. He shut his eyes tight, expecting to feel the weapon across his skull any second, until he heard several bangs and opened his eyes to see the nurse on the ground, Shadow right beside him grasping the handgun.

He smiled, wanting to thank the hedgehog but not having enough time to. Shadow moved so they were back to back again, shooting down the remaining straightjacket monsters before they reached him. Miles turned to the three demons ahead and aimed the now fully-loaded shotgun, squeezing the trigger and being rewarded with a scream from all three of them. They began to maneuver down the hall, spinning around in a circle together and shooting every monster that was closest to them.

This stopped when Shadow cried out, and Miles whirred around to see a nurse grabbing the hedgehog by the arms while an straight jacket monster wiggled towards him, getting ready to spit its stomach acids onto him. The fox shouldered the shotgun again to shoot the nurse down, but realized that the weapon's wide firing range would surely kill his teammate too. So instead, he turned the gun around and bashed the nurse's brains in with the butt of the shotgun, throwing it off of Shadow and causing it to fall to the ground like so many others before it.

Released from the monster's grip, Shadow looked to the straightjacket monster and shot it down, dead. He had already gone through the first handgun clip, and the second one was already halfway empty now. There were way too many monsters to go on like this. He looked to Miles and knew the fox was thinking the same thing.

Lowering theirs weapons, the team broke into a sprint, pushing and rushing past any monster that got in their way. None of the demons managed to get their hands of them luckily, and they turned around the second corner in the hall, moving down the F corridor now.

They stopped dead in their tracks, their blood running cold and their eyes widening as an extremely loud roar reverberated throughout the twisting hallway, sounding like it was coming from behind them. Quickly they spun around, their horrified eyes widening even more as they saw what had just run around the corner and stopped not too far away.

It looked similar to an ape, but it had been skinned of its flesh; its brains sticking out through its small inhuman head. Opening its large mouth, it let out another gruesome roar, showing its long sharp yellow teeth. Its thick muscular and mutilated arms pulsed with strength. Its claws, long and narrow, cut into the tile flooring.

Miles and Shadow stepped back in horror as the ape monster suddenly charged at them at amazing speeds, clearing eight feet in less than a second. Adrenaline rushed through their veins and the two furries turned to run away as fast as they could. Run away run away run away run away run away.

The creature charged after them, its mouth screaming and spraying its saliva across the floor, even _gaining _speed. It would have stabbed its claws into their backs and eaten them alive had they not turned another corner before it could, jumping through the metal gate and entering the G corridor. The twosome grabbed the iron bars that were left open on the metal gate and slammed it closed, just in time to save their lives. The ape slammed into the bars, screaming with disappointment. It looked disgusting, beating against the bars and making gorilla-like noises and shaking its head around, spraying more saliva everywhere.

Miles and Shadow slowly backed away, too afraid to take their eyes off the beast for even a second. Hands trembling, Shadow grasped onto the handle of the G2 door and opened it, running in with Miles right behind him.

They slammed the door behind them and put their backs to it, panting heavily and sweating like dogs. In unison, they slid down to the floor and stared at the wall ahead of them.

Miles looked to Shadow with a haggard expression on his young face. He looked at least ten years older. "What the _fuck _was that?"

"I have _no _idea…" Shadow panted, his voice sounding higher through his gasps of respiration.

"Uuugn…" Miles groaned and put his hands on his temples, looking down at the floor through his orange-furred legs. "I'm gonna need some serious therapy after this."

"I've never seen any monsters like _that_ here before." Shadow said, his eyes still wide and staring at the wall on the other end of the patients' room. "Do you think there are more than one of those?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if there were." Miles stumbled back up, not believing what he just saw. Things just seemed to be getting worse and worse by the minute.

"W-we've gotta get out of here…" the hedgehog muttered. They both already knew that beforehand, but he still felt the need to repeat it out loud.

"Yeah…"

…

"…let's wait here for a while first though."

"Good idea." Miles stumbled over to the mattress not too far away and sprawled out on it, looking up at the dimly lit ceiling while Shadow stayed sitting on the floor. They both had to be a lot more cautious around the corridors now, if they hoped to even have a chance of surviving. For the time being though, it seemed best just to wait for things to calm down a bit before getting back to searching for those rings.

And so, their blood still rushing with adrenaline that was beginning to subside, Miles and Shadow began to wait.


	13. Cryptic Enigma

****

**Sonic Hill 2: DX**

**Chapter 13: Cryptic Enigma**

------

"What's the Lakeview Hotel like?"

"Hmm…" Miles leaned back as memories of those lovely moments between him and his blue hero flooded his mind again, drowning out the situation they were in right now. "It's very beautiful…I don't even know how to describe it, really."

The tone of his voice made Shadow's tenseness subside. Miles really sounded happy for once. That happiness cast a shadow of depression, but it was happiness nonetheless.

"We checked into the place…the reason we came to this town was because it had Sonic's name in it. Funny, really. After reading about it we decided to go, and it was one of the best decisions we've ever made." Another smile cracked on his white-furred face; his eyes focused on the ceiling. "Well, besides having civil union of course."

"Of course." Shadow said, feeling a slight pang in his heart as he heard that for some reason. He ignored it and went on. "What room did you two have?"

"Um…312." Miles said. "I had gotten a promotion in my job as a protagonist in Station Square." 

"Protawha?'

"Nothin' important, just another stupid cubicle job. But anyway, Sonic and I eventually raised enough money to go on that vacation we planned on. And it was great. 312, 312…that was one of the best rooms in the whole hotel. Third floor, which had the largest and most expensive rooms. I remember, the best things about it were the windows; you could see almost all of Lake Toluca from your room. And man…just like in Rosewater Park, it's so beautiful, specially at sunset…"

"Must have been great." Shadow said, aching with a restrained sadness. He had never seen a sunset before, or anything really before he woke up here. Nothing he could _remember_, anyway. "I hope you can find him again."

"Me too…" Miles sat up and wrapped his arms around his legs, pulling them close and looking at the hedgehog. "I…I just don't know…"

"What?"

"I was at his funeral and everything…I don't understand how he could be alive."

"It doesn't matter." Shadow stated, sitting up and walking up to the mattress the fox sat in to sit next to him. "He's here…I _know _it. You just have to find him."

"Could he really be in that hotel?"

"I think so."

It was then that Miles did something Shadow had never expected him to do: pulled him into a warm friendly hug. "Thank you Shadow. I…I dunno what would have happened if I hadn't met you."

"Same here." Shadow said as he hugged back, feeling comforted by the fox's warm fur. "I think we've waited long enough. And Sonic is probably getting tired of waiting too. So let's get out of here."

The fox nodded and stood up, stretching his arms and picking the shotgun up off the floor. Shadow pulled the handgun out of his pocket and picked up the handbag, handing it to Miles. The fox seemed to want to hold it for him since they left M6 hours earlier. That ache in his arm was just a dull throb now…but it seemed like nothing compared to the gash on Miles's back. Shadow still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but the fox didn't seem to want to talk about it. He was okay with that – he'd be alright as long as Miles was okay.

"Um…keep your guard up." The fox said, knowing very well Shadow intended to but saying it anyway. Cautiously, he pushed the door open and let out a sigh of relief when the radio's static never came.

The F corridor was the polar opposite of the E corridor when it came to monster population. After examining it, they had only found one item of use – a key with the letter 'N' written on it. The 'N' Corridor was at the end of the M Corridor on the second floor, if he recalled. Miles could have sworn the hospital didn't look _this _big on the outside, but that didn't seem to matter. Still tense from the battle earlier, Miles and Shadow crept back down the maze of corridors till they got back to the C Corridor, where they took the elevator to the M Corridor.

The N Corridor Key worked, of course, and the door opened revealing another area, looking pretty much the same as all the others; dirty, broken, dark, and not remotely like any hallway in a normal hospital. Another nurse walked towards them, its broken skinless legs moving abnormally across the floor. Seconds later, a burst of shotgun shells buried itself into the nurse's chest, killing it. Miles stepped over its body with Shadow not too far behind, and then began checking the corridor like they had the others so many times before.

The labyrinth-like hallways were all locked tight, and the metal bars leading from the P to Q corridors were closed and locked, so the duo couldn't pass. Next to the bars though was a pair of flashy looking double doors, which proved to be unlocked, unlike everything else. They pulled the doors open and walked into the new room, seeing a kind of room they'd never expected to see in a mental hospital.

Dinning tables with mostly empty plates lined the room. Some plates still had half eaten and currently rotting food with utensils buried deep into them as if someone stopped in the middle of eating. Extravagant red tapestries hung down on the ceiling in the corners. A large chandelier was in the center, brightening everything up with a decent amount of light. What seemed to be the center of attention was the large black grand piano on a raised floor in the middle of the room. No dirt or decay covered the walls, making it look extremely out of place compared to the rest of the hospital. Aside from the food, the room looked completely clean and untouched till now.

"…" Shadow threw his arms up in the air. "I'm not even going to ask."

Since Shadow wouldn't dare question it, Miles did. "What the hell is this doing in a fuckin' _mental hospital_?"

Shrugging, Shadow advanced towards the grand piano, stepping up onto the platform it was on and looking at the keys. Miles followed, eyes focusing on the piano alongside Shadow's. There was a musical score on the top of it, made not of paper but from what looked like some sort of stone. It was old and withered—just like most of the writings they had found so far in the town—but the notes were still legible, while the lyrics were washed away completely. On the top of the score it said the song's name.

'**Love Psalm**'

"Heh, nice name." Miles said, losing interest already and turning to examine something else. But his teammate was too focused on the score to notice.

"Can I play this?" Shadow asked.

Miles looked at him like he was crazy. "You can play a _piano_?"

"Yeah, I think so." he grinned.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Miles laughed for a second, then got a serious look on his face again. "Come on though, there's no time for games."

"It's music, not a game." Shadow said, sitting down at the instrument. "Besides, there's something written here."

"Huh?" Miles leaned back in for a closer look. Indeed, there was something carved into the front of the piano.

'**An endless tune lie within one's breast**

**A psalm that defies that of love's test**'

****

"What's that supposed to mean?" Miles raised an eyebrow. The inhabitants of the town appeared to have a fetish for bad poetry before things even got weird.

Shadow shrugged, putting his hands on the keyboard and playing the simplistic melody carved into the stone score. Miles stepped back and sweatdropped, feeling weirded out yet awed at the hedgehog's actions. He really _did _play well, which seemed so ironic it was laughable.

He remembered Sonic used to try and play the piano…he wasn't very good at it, but he never stopped trying. It was things like that that made him love the blue hedgehog even more – Sonic was never bothered by the things he couldn't do, and never let it get the best of him. If he really wanted to do something, he'd do it. Not many guys are like that—

Miles pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind again, trying not to get lost in thought for the hundredth time that day. As if the music was what accompanied that thought, Shadow finished playing the moment he pushed the thoughts away and gave him a cheesy grin. The musical notes echo died out in the hallways beyond.

"What do you think?" Shadow looked as if he was mentally begging him to say he did well, and he really did. Miles clapped, being rewarded by an even bigger grin.

"Good work, but we should—"

He stopped in mid sentence as a strange sliding noise was heard from below. For a terrible quarter-second long period of time he thought that Pyramid Head might be nearby, but the soft noise ended way too abruptly to be that of the monster's giant knife. Shadow let out a small yelp as the piano began to play the Love Psalm again, except this time without him even touching the keys. Miles noticed that the piano was actually _moving_, backing away from the hedgehog by some hidden mechanism. It only moved a few feet before it stopped, and the wooden panels beneath the piano began to move instead. They slid back, creating a small square hole in the ground.

"What the…?"

"Just as I thought." Shadow said, kneeling down and looking into the hole. "It was another puzzle."

"Heh…" Miles turned the flashlight back on and revealed the hole's interior. There was a ladder that seemed to stretch down into the first floor, maybe even deeper than that.

"I wonder where that leads to…" Shadow said curiously, Miles looked at him.

"I'm going in, you stay here."

"Why?"

Miles stopped, wondering why he'd just commanded that. It was probably dangerous, but it's not like it would be any less dangerous up here. He just had a bad feeling something might happen if Shadow went in there…he shook it off though, realizing that they were both safest if they stuck together. "Okay okay, you can come, just let me lead the way."

Nodding, Shadow pulled out the handgun and looked down the hole. Miles moved closer to it and began to climb down the ladder, Shadow not too far above him. They climbed down the claustrophobic hole for a lot longer than they expected to – at least a minute, but they reached the bottom floor easily enough.

The corridor was so narrow that they couldn't stand side by side and make it through. Cold stone walling rubbed against Miles's shoulders, and he felt fear for the fact that if something charged at them, they wouldn't be able to turn around very easily. Gripping the shotgun tightly, Miles crept through the tight corridor. At the end was a rusty looking door, not too different looking from the one in the basement's basement. Miles glanced at Shadow—who was only a few inches behind him—and grasped the handle, turning it slowly and opening it into another tight sealed room.

"I wonder what _this _room was used for…" Miles stated, his voice magnifying and echoing off the walls.

Shadow didn't respond. Miles looked around to see he was still there—barely visible thanks to his black fur, which camouflaged him in the darkness. The fear that rose again in his mind fell once more. The hedgehog was looking around too, not seeming to have anything to say. Miles turned back to examine the room again. It was empty, except for a strange object in the middle of the floor.

His footsteps echoed just like his voice did as he walked up to the object and leaned down, realizing it was a small rag doll. Picking it up, he noticed it looked very _very_ familiar. Its 'fur' was yellow-ish orange, with white fur covering the chest and canine-like face. Reaching behind it, he felt two small tails on the rag doll's rear, confirming with that unique trait that it was a doll of himself.

'_What the fuck?_'

-_Clink!_

The ground rumbled, startling Miles and causing him to rapidly scan the small cell over again. His eyes bugged out as sharp, bloody spikes slid out of the walls. Before he could even make a move, the walls were quickly closing in on him. Time seemed to freeze, and he could barely think fast enough before the spikes were already inches from his flesh…

-**_SLAM!_**

****

"_Aaahh!!_"

Miles fell to the floor, right on top of Shadow who held his arms tight. Both panted heavily, staring at the place Miles was standing on a second earlier, which was now nothing but a concrete wall. It took a few seconds for him to realize it, but he was still alive.

"You okay?" Shadow asked from beneath him, his voice sounding strained.

Miles eyes were still wide. Somehow, Shadow had moved at lightening quick speeds and pulled him out of the cell before the spikes crushed him. "Y-yeah."

Maneuvering around, the fox rolled off of Shadow and pinned himself between the wall and the other male, trying to figure out how to stand back up. Shadow made it easier by sitting up himself and using one of his hands to lift himself up, standing and holding his hand out to Miles. Miles accepted it and Shadow pulled him back onto his feet.

He stayed silent, just staring at the hedgehog dumbfoundedly. Eventually, words formed at his lips again. "You saved me…"

Shadow smirked, his voice sounding surprisingly calm considering what had just happened. "I noticed." 

Shock still crowded Miles's young mind, pushing the fear and worry of the past events to the back and shamelessly presenting itself to his conscious. "Um…thank you."

"No problem." The hedgehog said casually. "You're the reason I'm still around too."

"Yeah…"

"What _is_ that anyway?"

"Huh?"

Shadow pointed to the rag doll in Miles's hands. "That."

"Oh…" Miles looked back down to it, forgetting it was there earlier. Considering that freaky doll had almost killed him, he didn't exactly like that it probably wouldn't have any real use in the future. "That's what I found in the room…"

Miles then noticed something about the doll he hadn't before – there was a small hole in its rear, looking like it was cut open intentionally. He stuck his finger into it (he sense an interesting mix of both hilarity, embarrassment, and awkwardness in doing so). His finger felt around the dolls fuzzy insides until it touched something solid. "Wait a second, there's something in here."

"What?" Shadow asked, leaning in and examining it closer. Miles pulled a gray metal ring out of the dolls behind and immediately checked the inner rim, seeing that strange handwriting on it like in the other two.

"Wow…looks like coming down here was a good idea after all." Miles looked at the hedgehog, smiling again. Not only had Shadow saved his life, but he had also been the one that had figured out the piano puzzle and got them down here to find this ring in the first place. Only two more left…

"Come on, let's get back upstairs." Shadow said, gesturing for Miles to move down the corridor and back to the ladder. Miles did so, taking the long ladder back to the piano room. He felt so relieved to leave the small space – not only for himself, but for Shadow too. That strange aura from the near-death experience was wearing down a little. Reminding himself that that wasn't the first time he was almost killed, in some ways, made him a bit more relaxed. In others it just made him a lot more uptight. Thinking about it was so surreal…

At first, they didn't notice what was different about the P Corridor, but it soon became apparent that the metal gate was now open. It hadn't been a minute ago…Miles had guessed maybe it was just jammed or something, or a monster broke through. It didn't matter though, because if it were anything dangerous they'd simply blow its punk ass to hell. Besides, the gate being open meant they could now enter the Q Corridor.

A giant wax doll stood erect in the center of Q3, quickly drawing attention away from everything else in the room. Shadow had assumed that it was another work of one of the patients, and Miles agreed. They did not leave the room empty handed though, for Miles had taken the strange emerald green key lodged into the doll's cartoonishly large head. Now they were in Q4, the only room left in the Q Corridor unlocked.

There was more handwriting carved into the cell's interior wall.

'**_she is an angel no one knows only I can see the LADY OF THE DOOR they cannot walk her BRIDGE OF THREAD they fall from the weight of their crimes like bloated and ugly corpses their sins she devours them sin and sinner alive she saves me she is an angel_**'

Shadow didn't even comment on it, and Miles wondered why. He turned to the hedgehog to see he wasn't staring at the wall, but instead what lay on the mattress to their right. A key, but not just any key. The words 'PARKING GARAGE' were written on a tag looped around it.

"Miles, you know what this means?" Shadow grinned, and Miles grinned back. The concerns of the raving text on the wall disappeared, along with the concerns of collecting the other rings.

"You bet!" Miles grabbed the key and looked to the door. He hadn't even considered it yet, but it was pretty likely there was a car or two in the parking garage of the hospital, and more importantly an opened exit. Even if they couldn't manage to drive it, they'd at least get out of the hospital. If he recalled, the door to the garage was back in the C Corridor…

Turning, they jogged out of the room, heading back to the M Corridor. Excitement pumped through their veins as they quickly reached the elevator. They tried not to get too excited, doing so could always end up disastrous, but if the garage was opened traveling around the place would even be a lot easier. Stepping into the elevator, Miles pressed the 1st Floor button and the soft whir of the cables lowering the elevator was all around them.

_-Bzzzzzt!_

In unison, they jumped, terror entering and exiting their bodies in less than a second. The radio's static blared again, but they didn't even have to examine the elevator to know that there couldn't possibly be any monsters in there with them.

"What's going on?" Shadow asked.

"I dunno." Miles said, on the verge of panic. Tens of terrifying thoughts shot through his mind, all of which were considering if there was a monster somehow nearby or _in _the elevator with them. "It's never done this before."

Holding the radio out before him, Miles and Shadow glanced at it wondering what was going on. They raised an eyebrow in unison as some perky, Sitcom-like music began to play over the static, followed soon afterwards by a perky male voice and screaming and clapping from an audience.

"_Hi there everybody!_" the radio voice shouted, full of enthusiasm. "_Thank you for tuning in, and welcome to—_"-The next line he said was shouted along with the ecstatic audience-"'_Trick…or…Treat!!!'_"

Shadow and Miles exchanged weirded out glances. Over the now slightly quieter static, the audience cheered once more.

"_This is the game where you either answer these three questions correctly and win a _great_ prize, or answer them incorrectly and suffer a horrible_ horrible_ death! Our lucky—or should I say unlucky—challenger today is…Miles Prower!! Are you ready to play 'Trick or Treat'!?_"

Miles's blood ran cold.

"_Good!_" the man cleared his throat, and after a second of silence spoke again, still in that disturbingly perky voice. "_Time for question number one!: Up in North Sonic Hill, not too far east from the peaceful neighborhood of Old Sonic Hill is the town's second known hospital! But oh no, this isn't that mental hospital Brook Haven from downtown, this is for normal citizens of town who are injured and slash or sick! The question is: _What_ is the name of this hospital!!? Is it…_

_A: Arachnid Hospital_

_B: Sonic Hill Hospital_

_Or C: Eden Medical Center!?_"

There was a long pause, the only sound being another song playing; this one sounding similar to the Jeopardy theme Miles hated hearing on TV. He felt extreme nervousness overcome him – it felt ridiculous, but the questions really did seem to be directed towards him. Problem was he didn't _know _the answer. He knew it wasn't Sonic Hill Hospital, so it had to be A or C…

"A: Arachnid Hospital." He answered, taking a wild guess. Eden Medical Center didn't sound at all familiar, but this one did. He hoped to God that he was right, because from what the host had said a minute ago about getting an answer wrong…

"_Correct or Incorrect? _We don't know!_ You must answer by pressing the buttons on the Trick or Treat Box!_"

Shadow crossed his arms, feeling rather foolish just standing there listening to the radio like that. Apparently the questions had no need to be answered right then and there, which meant they didn't have to answer them if they didn't want to. At least, he hoped not.

"_Now time for question number two! In South Vale lies a very beautiful and peaceful park on the edge of the lake; yet another great tourist attraction in this wonderful town of Sonic Hill! What is the name of this park!? Is it…_

_A: Lakeview Park_

_B: Castro Park_

_Or C: Rosewater Park!?_"

Miles smirked; that was about the easiest question regarding the town that someone could have asked him. Relieved, he replied. "C: Rosewater Park."

"_Correct or Incorrect? _We don't know!_ You must answer by pressing the buttons on the Trick or Treat Box!_" the voice repeated. "_Sonic Hill is considered a very…_special_ town._"

"Tell me about it…" Shadow muttered.

"_But there's a lot more to its past than most people would ever know! Washed away but still forever there in 'history' is the date of which Sonic Hill was founded, that only some residents know themselves. The third and final question is: When was Sonic Hill officially founded by the American Government!? Is it…_

_A: October 24th, 1986_

_B: August 21st, 1793_

_Or C: July 13th, 1808!?_"

"Shit…" Miles whispered. He knew A was definitely incorrect, but he really had no idea…

"C: July 13, 1808." Shadow said, surprising the young fox.

"_Correct or Incorrect? _We don't know!_ You must answer by pressing the buttons on the Trick or Treat Box!_" the increasingly annoying voice shouted for the third time. "_Well, that's the last of our questions for today! If you think your answers are correct, head to the third floor storeroom of the Brook Haven Mental Hospital and input them into the Trick or Treat box to win the grand prize! But, remember, if you get them wrong…Muahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Thanks for joining us on-_" the audience shouted along with him again-"'_Trick…or…Treat!!!_'"

With a click, the radio shut off.

"…"

Miles and Shadow just stood there in a silence blaring with confusion.

"What the fuck was _that_ all about?" the hedgehog asked.

"No idea…" Miles said distantly as he pocketed the radio. "How did you know when the town was founded?"

"I dunno, it's one of those things that I just…know." Shadow shrugged. "I can't remember much about my past…but I do know a few things about this town and the basic stuff, like where the Lakeview Hotel was, remember?"

"Yeah…" Miles said. He was really hoping Shadow would begin to get his memory back if it was possible, maybe if the hedgehog did he could answer some questions about what happened to this town since he came there three years ago. In the meantime, the thing he had to wonder about was that prize. Maybe it was a rather gluttonous and foolish thing to do, but it was slightly interesting him…"Do you think we should go check out what prize that guy was talking about? I know it was just a stupid game show broadcast, but…he knew my name…"

Shrugging, Shadow stated. "This is no time for games." He was intentionally mimicking what Miles had said to him in the piano room earlier, but the fox didn't seem to notice his sarcasm as usual. Honestly, Shadow was interested too.

The elevator stopped then, and they realized that it had been running this entire time, which was strange because it shouldn't have taken _that _long to go from the second to third floor. Answering their question in a muted confusing sort of way, the doors slid open, not revealing the C Corridor but the S Corridor instead. They had stopped on the third floor, only adding to their constantly growing confusion.

Stepping out of the elevator, Miles gripped the shotgun tightly and looked down the hall. He was still slightly shaken up from that doll cell earlier, and the radio show didn't help matters any further. If they were on the third floor, they might as well check out that storeroom and see if what the host had said was bullshit or not. They didn't run into any trouble on the short way there, which was always good. Once they reached the storeroom door in the third floor main hall, Miles opened it and stepped in.

In fact, the Trick or Treat box _was _there. It was rather large—more like a case than a box— taking up a few feet of space in the center of the room. Even stranger, Miles hadn't recalled seeing it when he entered the room earlier…

"Look." Shadow pointed at the side panel on the case, where there were three rows of three buttons across it. Each button in the rows of three were labeled A, B, or C. "I guess it wasn't BS after all."

Stepping up to the box, Miles examined the buttons closer. Cautiously, he pressed the A button for the first row, and the C button on the second row. He moved his finger to press the C button on the third row, but stopped, remembering what the radio host had said.

'"…**_either answer these three questions correctly and win a great prize, or answer them incorrectly and suffer a horrible _horrible_ death!_**"'

A cold shiver went down his spine. Maybe it just wasn't worth it…but Shadow _had_ said he knew the answer. Miles didn't really doubt the hedgehog's intelligence, but the main thing he was worried about was whether he had gotten the first question correct…

A strange impulse to just find out what was within the box sped through his brain abruptly. Clenching his eyes shut, he pressed the button. Rather than feeling his own demise overcome him, he heard a soft comforting click. He opened his eyes to see he had answered the questions correctly – the case was unlocked.

"Phew…"

Shadow didn't give him the chance to open the box and bask in his own glory. The hedgehog grabbed the lid and pulled it open, revealing more than one object inside.

"…fuck yeah!" they shouted in unison.

Within the Trick or Treat box were three boxes of shotgun shells, two handgun clips, another first aid kit, and two miniature portable safes. The ammo mostly was just what they needed to continue on. That meant thirty-six total handgun bullets in the weapon counting the six left in it, and twenty-three shotgun shells - a lot more than they had ever had at a single period of time thus far. They switched the half-empty first aid kit they had found before with the new one, meaning if they got injured at least they wouldn't run out of healing supplies. The contents of the miniature safes only stayed a secret for a short period of time before Miles took out the emerald colored key and tried it on the safe's lock. It worked for both of them, unlocking them and revealing two objects that intrigued them, yet disappointed them for they probably wouldn't need to use it in the future. Within the first safe was a large green emerald, followed by a similar one in the second safe, except the second one was dark blue. Very interesting, Miles hadn't recalled ever seeing a blue emerald before…

Miles placed both emeralds within the handbag, not wanting to just leave the treasure in the hospital. Perhaps it was greedy, but anyone would take a unique item like that if they could. Maybe if they escaped, he could sell it or keep it or something…

He shook his head as he had done many times before, feeling a slight bit of shame for thinking of stupid things like that at the moment. None of that shit mattered right now. What really mattered was getting to that parking garage finally.

"It's a good thing we came in here." Miles said to his comrade. "This ammo should last us a while."

Shadow nodded, pocketing the two handgun clips. The bullets would only take down a few nurses, but from what he had experienced earlier, it was very useful against the straightjacket monsters, and having extra ammo was always a good thing anyway.

"You ready to get the hell out of this place?" Shadow asked, eased knowing that the end was in sight.

"Hell yeah!" Miles exclaimed with a grin as he loaded up five more shells into the shotgun.

Leaving the third floor storeroom for the final time, Miles and Shadow began to head towards the parking garage.


	14. Betrayal

****

**Sonic Hill 2: DX **

**Chapter 14: Betrayal**

------

Like the barren streets of Sonic Hill, the parking garage was disturbingly empty. Concrete flooring expanded across a very large radius, only having five or six old dented cars scattered across it. One was all Miles and Shadow needed though to get out, and that one was there. Hearts pounding with anticipation, the duo ran across the hard concrete floor, hearing its shadow of sound bounce around the walls before being overcome by silence. The double doors to the E Corridor slowly closed shut behind them, spitting out a sound too distant for them to hear or care about. All that mattered to them now was leaving.

An old rusty station wagon was the first vehicle they came across, and a quick look at the interior through the cracked window proved it was empty and clean enough to drive in. Best of all, the keys were in the ignition like someone had left and forgotten to take it out. They had no problem with that, no problem at all. Pulling the door open, Miles jumped into the driver's seat while Shadow stayed outside the car, guarding the perimeter closely with the handgun drawn. The fox checked the gas meter, seeing there was enough in the tank to get them about twenty miles, far enough away from town to find some outside help.

"Shadow…" Miles looked at the hedgehog, grinning widely even more so than before. "I think we're ready to go!"

"Good." Shadow said, shoving the gun down his pocket as he ran around the front of the car and hopped in shotgun. "Let's get out of this hellhole!"

"Right!" Miles grasped the ignition key and quickly turned it to start the vehicle up.

…

And nothing happened.

"Shit!" Miles winded it back and turned the key again. Still nothing, not even the sound of the engine trying to start. "_Shit!!_" Groaning, he slammed his head across the wheel.

Frowning, Shadow asked calmly. "Why don't we check the engine?"

Nodding, Miles pressed the hood top-open button, opened the door and walked back out of the car, running to the front hood. Shadow followed on the other side. Grasping the edge of the metal, he pulled it open.

The engine was gone, completely. Leaving behind an empty shell of metal.

Slamming the hood down, Miles screamed in frustrated anger. "_GODDAMNIT!!!_"

Shadow looked down discontentedly as the fox took his rage out on the hood of the station wagon. Trying to keep his cool, he said. "We should check the other cars…"

"What's the point!?" Miles cried, causing the hedgehog to step back a bit in surprise. "None of _those _ones will have engines either! You know it! We're stuck in this fucking hospital, stuck in this fucking _town_…"

The discomfiture and disappointment in the fox's voice was overwhelming. Shadow felt the undying need to make him feel less upset, but there wasn't anything he could do. "Miles…"

Whatever he was about to say, he never got to say it. A loud, inhuman scream echoed throughout the garage, causing both of them to jump and let out a small yelp themselves. Looking up, Shadow's heart almost stopped when he saw the skinless gorilla they had run into earlier crouched on top of the station wagon, flashing its bloody sharp teeth. Before the hedgehog could even shout, the creature jumped off the car, about to land on Miles's back. Instinctive reflexes took over him and he jumped, crossing the short distance between himself and the fox much faster than the time it took for the gravity to push the gorilla down on his friend. Shadow rammed right into Miles and they both flew out of the monsters path, missing its sharp claws just in time.

Miles let out another yelp as he landed on his behind, the hedgehog on top of him. He only had a split second to recuperate before the gorilla jumped at them again. Shadow rolled off of him and out of the way, timing it perfectly as Miles rolled the other direction. The gorilla landed in between them, digging its claws into the hard cement they had been laying on a second earlier.

Shadow rolled to his feet and pulled out the handgun immediately, rapidly squeezing the trigger and firing two bullets at the monster before it spun around, dragging one of it's nails across his right arm lightly and leaving trails of blood in his fur. Pain hissed on his arm and he clutched it tightly, lowering the handgun in the process. The gorilla was about to slash him again, but Miles put the shotgun against its back and squeezed the trigger, smiling as the fresh shells buried themselves into the monster's back.

But to his dismay, the gorilla didn't die right away. It backhanded him, sending him falling to the ground. Before he could make another move the monster jumped on top of him, jabbing its claws into his chest. He stopped it just in time, grabbing its hands before it ripped into his heart and holding it back with all his might. The monster's strength was far superior to his though, and it slowly overpowered him, painfully driving its claws into his fur. The jagged tips just barely touched his flesh. Miles knew, to his own terror, that in a few seconds he wouldn't be able to hold it back anymore, and the monster would dig into his chest and tear out his rapidly beating heart.

-**_BANG!_**

But it was torn off of him suddenly, letting out a mangled cry of agony. Miles put his hand to his chest and turned over in pain while trying to catch his breath. Shadow pumped the shotgun he grabbed off the floor and fired again. The gorilla let out another roar as even more bullets entered its body, but it still had ceased to die. Screaming once again, it tried to get up, but stopped when the head of the gun was put against its face. It looked up at Shadow, seeing the black hedgehog grin madly.

"Game over."

Shadow squeezed the trigger and the gun fired right into the creatures face, blowing its head off entirely and covering the cement floor with splatters of blood. It let out a final gurgled cry from its headless body, blood pouring out in waterfalls, until it fell to the floor spazming. Less than a second later, it stopped moving, and the monster ceased to exist.

Glaring at the body, Shadow pumped the weapon again and dropped it, running over to the fox and turning him over. "Miles, are you okay!?"

"Sh-Shadow!" the yellowish orange furred kitsune cried. He took his hand away from his chest to show the gorilla hadn't stabbed him, just left a deep scratch.

"Oh thank god…" Shadow cried with relief. Miles began to sob softly, his eyes moistening. He may still be alive, but he obviously wasn't okay. Shadow pulled him into a close, comforting hug. "Miles, it's okay. It's okay..."

"Shadow…I-I can't believe…" Miles sniffled and looked at his face. "You saved me again…I've never…"

"Relax."

Looking away, the other male tried to think of how to say what he wanted to say next, only coming up with short statements. Deep down inside, those feelings awakened again, those feelings of extreme admiration for the hedgehog, except now they were stronger than ever before. "I…you've been so nice to me…no one's ever been this nice to me, except for Sonic…I think…"

"What?"

"Shadow…" Tails closed his eyes and let more tears roll down his cheeks. "I can't betray Sonic, but…from all this, and what happened in S3…I think have _feelings _for you…"

Shadow looked down, not knowing what to say. The truth, which he had known since S3, since even before that, became apparent to his mind. It wasn't something he was ashamed of. "Miles…I feel the same way."

Slowly, Miles wrapped his arms around Shadow's neck and buried his muzzle into the white patch of fur on the hedgehog's chest, sobbing slightly again. Except this time it wasn't of sadness, but a profound happiness that he was no longer alone. Shadow pulled his face up to meet his own, closing the gap between the two as their lips met for the second time. Only this time, rather than only brushing their lips together, they locked each other in a long, passionate kiss. Shadow placed his hands on the other male's back, trying to pull him closer without touching the still aching wound.

That hole in Miles's heart mended slightly, and his mind was away from it all now. For that small blissful moment, everything was okay. The two furries had fallen too deep in their ocean of passion to notice the ground was rumbling at first, but soon the shaking brought them to their senses and they broke the kiss, looking around for what was causing it. Stumbling up, they felt the shaking of the concrete intensify, like the ground was about to fall out underneath them.

"What's going on!?"

Shadow's question was answered as they heard a loud roar—this one much louder from the one the gorilla had made earlier—reverberate through the concrete beneath them. The ground around them cracked and started to crumble apart. At the same time, they both jumped away from the area they were standing on seconds earlier and broke into a sprint towards the parking garage door. Whatever was going on, they didn't want to stick around and wait for the disaster to kill them.

They stopped dead in their tracks about twenty meters away from the door, just in time to avoid falling into the pit as the ground in front of them broke away, blocking off their exit. To their horror, they saw something big smash through the concrete to the surface, sending dirt rocks and cement everywhere.

It looked like a giant coffee-colored worm, its head being nothing but a large hole, which they soon realized was its mouth. Like the monsters before it, it had countless jagged edged teeth circling the perimeter of its jaw. Though it had no eyes, it let out a terrible roar and shot towards them extremely fast.

Like they had with the gorilla before, Miles and Shadow simultaneously jumped in different directions, landing on the ground as the worm smashed the large area between them head on. It continued moving, just digging right back into the ground and slithering below till it wasn't visible anymore.

Miles sat up and glanced at the hedgehog across from the large hole in between them. They both knew what the other was thinking exactly.

'_There's no way we can outrun that thing._'

"Split up!" Miles shouted, grabbing the shotgun off of the ground next to the gorilla's corpse and sprinting away, farther into the parking garage. Shadow pulled the handgun back out and nervously stood there, looking for any signs that the worm was going to shot out of the ground again. He was lucky, for the worm had decided to leave him alone for the time being and attack his teammate instead.

It burst out of the ground in front of Miles and attempted to ram right into him, but Miles's reflexes were superior to the monsters and he aimed the shotgun and fired right away. This slowed the worm down enough for him to have time to run out of the way of its attack, immediately turning and shooting three more shell bursts at it before it slithered back underground. Turning, the blue-eyed one began to run towards one of the vehicles.

"Look out!" Shadow cried from far away. The car in front of Miles seemed to disappear, falling into the ground below it as the worm destroyed the surface. The car landed in its jaws, and it crunched the metal vehicle up like it was nothing a second later. To Miles's surprise, the monster spit the car back out. The trashed heap of metal bounced off the ground, rolling uncontrollably towards him with horrifying quickness. The fox ducked under its third bounce just in time to dodge it completely, saving his own life.

At least—he had thought second later—it had seemed that way.

The ground around him crumbled again, and the chunk of concrete he was on suddenly tipped over, knocking him down and rolling him into the hole that had just appeared a second earlier, where the worm now lay with its mouth open wide. Miles let out a cry of terrified acknowledgement as he was about to roll down the its throat and be eaten alive. Reaching out blindly, he grabbed onto a chunk of concrete still rooted enough to the ground and gripped it tightly, pushing his feet against the 40º angle he was on at the same time. Doing this saved his life again; stopping him only a few feet away from the worms open jaws.

Disappointed, the monster shot into the air, about to zoom back down into the spot Miles lay in and swallow him whole on the way back down underground. But in the short period of time it was above the hole, Shadow furiously unloaded five bullets into its round bloated flesh. The pain threw the monster off balance, and it dug back into the ground before it could be hurt anymore. This action had spared Miles his life for the fourth time in the past five minutes.

A roar from the right. Shadow looked and saw the beast shoot out of the ground close by. If it attacked him now, he'd have no chance of fighting it off with just the handgun. He looked to the hole Miles was in, seeing the shotgun laying right on the edge, if he could jump for it…

He looked to the worm, and both him and the beast seemed to think the same thing at the same time. Both dived for the shotgun, Shadow grabbing it and somersaulting out of the way as the worm shoved its large mouth into the ground he was on a second earlier. Three rolls later, he stopped on his knee, spun, and fired three shells into the hulking mass of flesh before it could dive completely underground again. He pumped the shotgun and did an 180º turn just in time to see the monster burst out of the ground behind where he was standing earlier.

Already he had the shotgun aimed at its body, and that movement saved his life. The monster shot towards him at incredible speeds, its thousand-toothed mouth opening wide and actually surrounding the hedgehog before he fired the weapon, a split second before it would have eaten him. The shell went right down its throat, cutting and slashing all the insides it scathed on the way down. Throwing its head backwards, the worm let out a terrible cry and sprayed blood all over the inside of its mouth, spilling out onto the floor below. Shadow stepped back as the worm leaned forward and vomited, shooting blood, guts, and slime all over the place. Finally, it fell limp on the ground in its own waste, dead.

Shadow put his hand to his mouth, trying to resist the urge to puke. He took a deep breath and dropped the gun to the floor, turning to run down the hole and see if Miles was still alive.

The fox was no longer on the ground he managed to pin himself to earlier – now he was hanging off the very very edge of the black pit, hanging onto a pipe sticking out of the inner rim for his life. Shadow let out a sigh of relief and jumped down the broken chunks of rock and cement to where the fox was, holding out his hand to help Miles up. 

"Saving you is becoming a full-time job for me, eh?" the hedgehog said with a smirk, trying not to laugh.

Miles rolled his eyes, smiling back. "Just get me out already."

He grabbed onto Shadow's hand and the hedgehog pulled him up, destroying the gravity's plans of dragging his friend down the hole to his untimely death. Once the taller one managed to pull Miles out, they both stumbled up the slope of broken concrete till they reached the ground floor, falling and laying down only a few yards away from the worm's puke-covered corpse.

Both panted heavily, exhausted from the battle. Miles crawled up so he was sitting on his knees. "That's three I owe you…"

Shadow could tell from the way Miles looked away, and from his tone of voice, that the fox wasn't feeling very good. "Are you okay?"

Ashamed and embarrassed, Miles replied. "Shadow…I can't…"

Shadow frowned, knowing just what the fox was talking about. It was just like in S3…"That's okay."

"I can't betray Sonic…I don't know _what_ I was thinking…"

Placing his hands on Miles's arms, Shadow replied calmly. "I said it's okay. You came here to find him, I should…just stay out of the way."

Miles stared at him, and he could clearly tell that the hedgehog was hurt. It was hurting both of them, and he hated himself even more for that. He felt like a selfish ass for doing that to his best and only friend. Taking his eyes away from Shadow, he whispered.

"Maybe he really is dead…"

"No." Shadow shook his head. "He's alive. I know it. He's at that hotel, waiting patiently for you right now. I have no right to stand in your way."

Miles's face had an expression of devastation on it, like he had realized something horrible he had forgotten before. His eyes became moist again, tears almost ready to flow down his ruffled furry cheeks. He put his hand to his face and wiped the wetness away. "I _never_ keep my promises…" He said, his voice matching the expression on his face.

"Oh Miles…"

"I promised him I'd take him back to this town for another vacation. He loved this place so much…but I wasn't able to."

Biting his lip, Shadow tried to think of what to say to comfort his friend. His thoughts came up with nothing, only a profound helplessness that he couldn't make Miles feel better.

"That damn disease..." Miles shook his head again. "I wish I could have done _something_ to save him…but no, no one could. The hospital only prolonged his death, if anything. I still remember that day…"

-----

_"Mr. Hedgehog-Prower, you may see him now." the kind blonde-haired nurse told Miles in a calm, sympathetic voice. While not knowing them personally, she did know a horrible situation when she saw one. And this one was one of the worst she'd seen since she had become a nurse, at least at the emotional level._

_Giving the nurse a weak thankful smile, Miles slowly pushed the door open, seeing his beautiful blue hedgehog on the bed in the back of the small patient's room, looking out the window. He closed the door behind him, shutting off their following conversation to the rest of the world._

_"Sonic…"_

_"Hey Tails…" _

_Sonic's once perky careless voice now sounded weak and powerless. As the sunlight shown upon his body, Miles saw the effects the disease had taken on his love since they had last talked. Sonic's sad, ashen face was pale; half of it wrinkled like only that part had aged. He was only 26 at the time—two years older than Miles was—but he looked more like he was 80 now. Most of his drained and ruffled fur had already fallen off his body like he was molting. Parts of his skin were gray and dead, if not already white. His innocent emerald green eyes which Miles loved to get lost in so many times in the past looked glazed and distant, the color in his pupils also fading like his flesh. Abruptly, the hedgehog put his hand to his mouth and let out a dry, throaty cough. It was not unlike the thousands of coughs before it he'd hacked up over the past year._

_"It's been a while…"_

_"Only a few days," Sonic said softly, even now still trying not to make Miles, or 'Tails' back then, feel guilty for not coming to visit as much as he used to. "I can't expect you to come here every day."_

_"Yeah…" Tails looked at the floor, not knowing what to say. There was a very long moment of silence after that, neither of them knowing what to say next._

_Slowly, Sonic turned his head and laid it against the glass window, looking back outside at the bright beautiful world he knew he could never enter again. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" It sounded more like a statement than a question._

_"Oh Sonikku…"_

_"Just as I thought…" The hedgehog tried to crack a reassuring smile, but his muscles were too weak and uninspired to. Tails placed his ungloved hand on Sonic's, feeling the hedgehog's cold and dying fingers wrap wishfully around his. _

_And so, Sonic and Tails, two unorthodox lovers, just sat there in complete silence, both their hearts and souls pulsing with a lonely sadness. There was nothing left to say. Nothing more they could say, or do for that matter, but stay there and steal a tiny piece of happiness in their own love's comfort. In that room lay another shattered life, not the first nor last the room would experience, but still a broken dream._

-----

Shadow's dark crimson eyes stared down at the floor sadly. "I'm so sorry, Miles…"

"I didn't come the next day, or the next, or the next…" Miles said, eyes still focused on the floor before him. "It was too much for me, for us…"

"I can understand." Shadow nodded.

"You really think he's here, in this town?" Miles asked, a small bit of hopefulness in his tone.

"Yes." Shadow said. It wasn't the first time he'd been asked that. "Anything can happen in Sonic Hill."

"Yeah…"

Standing up, Miles looked around the decimated parking garage again. Though he still couldn't get over it, the past at the moment was not the most important thing they should be worrying about. The present was. It'd be best to continue their escape plan if possible. "Looks like we can't get out of this hospital by car…"

It was then that he noticed a glint of something in the pool of the worm's vomit, something he really didn't expect to see there. Walking up to it, he kneeled down and picked up a slick and sticky led ring. Checking the inner rim, he noticed the writing on the inside just like with the other three rings. Looks like the worm had puked it up along with everything else in its stomach. "Shadow, look!"

Shadow looked over his shoulder, seeing the ring in his hand. "Excellent, I guess it's time to go ring hunting again."

Miles nodded. It seemed ridiculous, but that was the only lead they had to getting out of the place. The parking garage exit doors were locked, leaving the big place useless on their adventure. "Only one more to go…"

"Oh yeah!" Shadow exclaimed, looking around. "That gorilla…"

"What?"

"I saw something on its hand before it slashed me." Shadow spotted the headless corpse of the mutilated gorilla—finding it hard to believe he dispatched that thing single-handedly—and ran up to it. Miles followed right behind, grinning when he saw what Shadow was talking about. On the monster's middle finger was a shiny gold ring. Shadow slid the ring off and held it out to Miles proudly, grinning also.

"Heh…that's convenient." Miles stated, taking the ring. That was the last one - they now had all five. It was time to check out what happens when they stick them on that painting's hand. "Thanks Shadow."

"No problem. You ready to go back to the S Corridor?"

Miles nodded. Together and reassured that they have a lead on something, Shadow and Miles ran out of the parking garage and back into the hospital, picking up the shotgun along the way.


	15. Reality

****

**Sonic Hill 2: DX**

**Chapter 15: Reality**

------

It was a long jog back to the third floor S corridor, but the fox and the hedgehog had finally made it. The angel painting looked just the same as before; its thin arm supporting its petite hand extended outwards. Two rings were already placed on it, the two they had put there an hour or so earlier, and now only three fingers remained naked and ringless. Miles made a quiet wish that they'd get out of here soon once they finished this puzzle, and then made a second wish that it'd at least do _something _that benefited them.

The stench of burnt, rotten meat and gasoline had plagued his senses for so long, and he'd kill just to breathe fresh air again. Then again, he and his friend Shadow had killed plenty of monsters here already.

The steel pipe strapped to Shadow's back had proved pretty useless since they had met in the basement's basement earlier, and he hadn't even used the knife still in his half empty side-pack. The shotgun had been basically the single thing keeping them alive, other than their own teamwork. Though, both that and the handgun were beginning to deplete in ammo again. Shadow had already handed him the handgun back, deciding to use the pipe from now on till they found at least one more clip for it. The melee weapon easily took down straightjacket monsters, and there was no use wasting bullets on them anymore if they could help it. Strange, Miles had thought, it seemed as they progressed on everything just got bigger and badder.

Miles held the last three rings in his hand while Shadow kept watch on the hallway with the pipe. If a monster was nearby, the radio would alert them of it, but he thought he'd at least humor the hedgehog for the moment. It was the least he could do – Shadow had done an awful lot for him, and he hadn't been able to do much in return. He felt very guilty because of that.

Carefully, Miles slid the last three rings onto the angels fingers, hearing a distant click the moment he put the final ring on her pinky finger. Then, another soft sliding sound was heard as the painting began to slide to the left, revealing the metal door leading to the stairway. The stairway led back to the C Corridor, but also continued downwards into the boiler room and a few other rooms in the basement that were locked from the side facing the elevator. It was better than nothing – maybe they could find another thing of use in those new rooms.

"Okay. Let's go." Miles said. Shadow nodded beside him, almost blending in with the corridors darkness.

Grasping the shotgun tightly, Miles reached to touch the doors handle. To his surprise, the second he touched it the door literally fell off its hinges and into the stairway, hitting the floor and letting out a loud unnerving noise that echoed throughout the hall and the stairway. Jumping a little, Miles shined the flashlight down the stairway, seeing that there weren't any gates blocking the first floor or anything this time. That was good.

He gestured to Shadow, and they walked across the short flat part of the stairway and then down the steps, their footsteps sounding a lot louder than in any other place in the hospital. They only made it to the first turnaround when Shadow spoke.

"Miles, come, look at this." He pointed to a piece of paper nailed to the wall that Miles hadn't even noticed. The fox shined the flashlight more onto it and tried to read the words scribbled in barely legible handwriting.

'_**i found thE kEy to the moosium i got skarEd and i hidE i hidE it undEr statuE of godiss in park but i did no stEEl it im Not a krimminal. pLEEs dOnt nakE mE go 2 jaLe i didn ot do n E thing dOnt u bElEV mE¿**_'

Raising an eyebrow, Miles turned to Shadow. "Another patient?"

"I'd hope so," the hedgehog said, shaking his head. "It's not important I guess. Let's just get the hell out of here. I'm sick and tired of this place."

Miles agreed fully. He didn't know how long they'd been in this hospital so far, but it sure was more than six hours. He despised this place even more than he did when he originally came in, and he'd be very happy if he never had to see it again. Looking forward again, Miles and Shadow moved down a few more flights of stairs. The doors on the second and first floor were boarded up—not that they'd want to go back into the C or M corridors again anyway—but luckily the basement door wasn't. They opened it, revealing the boiler room. While it was still dark like most other rooms in the hospital, it was lit up a bit by red lights from the various mechanisms in the area. It gave it a bit of a creepy feel, but it was nothing compared to what they had seen so far on their long journey through Sonic Hill.

The boiler room door should lead back into the basement hallway, if it wasn't locked from this side too. But the duo wasn't thinking about that at the moment, their attention was already stolen by what lie in the corner of the room.

A large statue of a knight in shining armor holding a huge axe before it, which reminded Miles of medieval castles and stuff he'd learned about in school. A few feet in front of the knight was a large pedestal that stretched a few yards across it. Miles and Shadow walked up to it, reading what was carved in a plague on the stone.

'**Turn the keys together, and the door to your destiny shall open.**'

Looking, they noticed there was a key on both ends of the pedestal, sticking into their own respective keyhole. The key on the far left was white, while the one on the far right was black. They were too far apart for one to turn simultaneously.

Shadow looked at Miles, and Miles looked back. Both knew what to do, and split up, moving to the opposite keys. Miles grabbed the white key, while his friend grabbed the black one.

"On three." Shadow said. "One…two…three!"

They both turned, and heard a click similar to the one from the painting. Metal scraped against metal and the knight's armored chest opened up, revealing a hole with a golden key standing upright within it. Miles reached into the statue and grasped the key, pulling it out and reading the words on it.

'**Basement Second Floor Door**'

That iron door in the basement's basement must be what the key was for, Miles figured. Turning to Shadow, he smiled. "Shadow…"

"Hmm?" Shadow asked.

"I just thought I'd say again…thanks for helping me through all this."

"Thank you too." The hedgehog said, giving him a benign smile. It helped ease some of the guilt Miles felt about earlier. "Now come on, it's time to check out that place."

"You sure you wanna come with? You didn't like it down there earlier."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "That's just because I wasn't in there with you. I'm not afraid anymore."

"Heheh, alright." Miles smiled, looking to the door. "Let's go Shadow."

"Yeah."

Walking up to the boiler room door, Miles unlocked it from this side and opened it back into the basement corridor. They immediately went to the basement storeroom door and opened it. They didn't stick around the basement's storeroom for more than five seconds, taking the ladder in the hole on the floor down to the basement's basement right away. It was just as dark and creepy as before, except Shadow was with Miles now. He didn't mind that at all.

The intimidating iron door was still there. Slowly, Miles slid the key into the keyhole and turned, hearing a gentle click as the door unlocked. He pushed it open and was surprised at what was on the other side.

Another very long dark hallway. In the very back—what had to be at least one hundred yards—there was a light. Squinting, Miles guessed it must be an elevator or something. If he remembered the hospital's layout correctly, that elevator shouldn't even be in the hospital. Maybe it led to another building or something…he didn't know. But they weren't going to find out just standing there. Miles hoped that it wouldn't end up like in the apartment buildings and began to walk forward, closing the door behind him and hearing Shadow's reassuring footsteps by his side.

-**_CRASH!!!_**

****

Miles's heart almost jumped out of his chest when he heard an extremely loud and close crashing noise from behind them. He and Shadow whirred around, and their eyes widened in terror when they saw what was behind them.

Only a few yards behind them stood Pyramid Head, its several-foot-long bloodstained knife in hand. It raised its large metallic head up to the ceiling and let out a loud, angry roar that sent shivers down both their spines. Its roar created a blinding crescendo with the scream of terror within Miles's mind. Quickly, he turned to Shadow and shouted, the fear he felt showing clearly in his voice.

"_RUN!_"

Miles and Shadow both turned around and broke into a sprint, immediately running as fast as their legs could carry them. Pyramid Head screamed again and—to Miles's utter surprise and horror—broke into a sprint also, running after them with amazing speeds. The slowness it had shown in the past must have been an act or something, because it was running just as fast as them now, if not even _faster_. Raising its knife into the air, it did a huge overhead swing, which just barely missed Shadow and Miles as they ran for their lives. Dragging it off the ground, Pyramid Head began to speed up again, gaining speed every second. He swung the knife once again, sideways this time, missing only by a few inches.

Miles realized that he himself was also gaining speed, running faster than ever. Some unknown instinct mixed in with the rapid rivers of adrenalin flowing through his veins. The result effected his two tails, which began to spin around like a propeller, making him increase speed and zoom further forward so he was now a few feet ahead of Shadow and Pyramid Head in the mad race for survival.

The creature was still hot on their heels; almost close enough to_ grab _them. The two panted heavily as they desperately stared ahead at the elevator door, their savior, which was quickly getting closer.

-**_CHING-CLANK!_**

The giant knife swung and missed Shadow's back again by only a few feet. It hit the right wall and bounced off, swinging back and still missing the hedgehog. Miles prayed that they'd get in the elevator in time. His eyes bugged out when he saw that the doors—which were drawing closer and closer by the split second—were beginning to _close_.

Another swing. Closer. But still missing. The two furries' feet pounded against the floor as they once again missed death by only a few inches. With a sudden burst of speed, Miles and Shadow ran faster than they ever did in their entire life. And just in time too; another swing of the blade, and the monster missed Shadow's back once again by mere inches. The elevator door was only a few yards away, and less than a second later, only a few feet.

Miles kept his constant speed and side-ran through the now halfway closed door, running to the back of the elevator. His mind cried with relief, for he had made it inside alive. But that relief only lasted for a few milliseconds before he realized one thing was missing. He spun around quickly and saw Shadow staring at him, a look of pure horror in his dark eyes; the door was almost all the way closed. Desperately, the hedgehog reached out to try and get in.

His hand was the only thing that made it through that door.

The sliding doors shut on his hand, but rather than reopening, they stayed there slightly ajar for Miles to stare in horror as Pyramid Head raised its gigantic knife above its head and slammed it down on Shadow's back. The knife pierced deep into his flesh, cutting through the steel pipe on his back and almost completely through the hedgehog himself. The force of the weapon dragged Shadow down to the floor in a sea of pain, forcing his mouth open with a scream of pure terrified agony.

"_AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!_"

Miles couldn't blink, couldn't move, couldn't even breath as he saw the creature raise its knife up again and slam it down on the hedgehogs back a second time, forcing another agonized cry from his friend. It raised the knife for the third time and hacked into him again, and again and again and again and again and again. Crimson droplets splattered inside the elevator, spraying onto Miles's furry face and the cold gray walls around him like sprinklers.

Shadow's final pained scream slowly died out as the knife was brought down on his thin body one last time. Then, the monster grabbed onto the black—now dark red-stained—hedgehog's leg and dragged him away, releasing his limp hand from the doors and letting them slide closed, leaving the fox alone in the silent cold elevator.

Miles's large blue eyes still focused on where the hedgehog's hand was only a few seconds ago, unable to tear themselves away. It finally dawned on him fully what had just happened.

"S-Shadow…" Miles whispered silently, stepping backwards until he felt the cold metal walls of the elevator touch his wounded back. It sent sending rays of pain stinging through him, but he barely even noticed it. Somehow, the pain just didn't matter anymore. "N-no…Shadow…"

Slowly, he slid down to the floor, still not believing it. It couldn't be happening…

But it was. This was his reality.

Shadow was dead.

Miles placed his hands onto his face, covering it, and began silently crying.


	16. Tears of

****

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 16: Tears of…

------

'_I could have saved him…_'

The metal elevator doors held open, painfully but patiently waiting for their lonely carrier to leave. How long they had been open, Miles didn't know, nor really care.

'_Shadow…Shadow…Shadooooow…nonononono…_'

Tears of regret flowed down his dirty face, as they had been for a while now. He'd lost everything. Sonic…three long years ago, dying slow and painfully…memories of that had haunted him since that day all those years ago. Now he'd gotten a chance to possibly save his love, but he'd gotten…lost. Lost in the depths of the fog. He'd only known Shadow for about a day, but…that hedgehog was so much like Sonic it scared him. That hedgehog was his short-lived tourniquet, and without him Miles's shattered heart was left to bleed. Now he was gone too, gone forever.

Just like Sonic…

With his eyes staring up at his voided reflection in the knife above, Miles contemplated what he should do. He was mimicking the position that bat he'd met earlier that day had been in, lying on the floor of the elevator. Regret clouded his thoughts again; regret that he hadn't treated Shadow better, or tried harder to save him from that monster…but he knew there was nothing he could do now. He was too late.

"_Everything…_" Miles muttered silently, not really even knowing where he was going with that sentence. All hope of Sonic being alive was gone, now that the one that encouraged him throughout this ordeal was also. Searching felt pointless now. Both had died before his eyes.

No more reason to live. No more will. Miles Prower put the knife to his neck, knowing well that one quick, deep, strike would leave a nice wound, one that would never heal. Or maybe a heavy slash to the wrist would be better, painful, and final…

Static.

Had another monster come near? The elevator doors had been open for some time, and he was a little surprised no monsters had come by to do the killing for him. The hospital's front doors—the exit—were in sight from where he lay right now; just down the hall. More regret overcame him as he thought about what would have happened right now if he had only grabbed his hand or done _something_ to help that black hedgehog who had been his only real ally in the town. If monsters had been in the hall, he wouldn't be so eager to stop them from giving him a harsh painful death, not anymore…

The static was followed by a voice, a very familiar one. His ears perked up and he pulled the radio out of the side-pack.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

Sonic's voice came over the line.

"_Tails!…ails…ere are you?……W…you k………………m waiting for yo………talk to…………d………me? Is……w…………..hurry………Are you lost? I'm…………Tails. P……e you Tails! Can't………ar………Ta……ails! Tails! Ta…_"

The radio shut off.

"Sonikku…"

It was just like before. Sonic's voice was barely audible over the large amount of static. But it was still there, still his, just in time to reassure the fox enough to get back up and go on.

"I…I can't give up…not yet." Miles shook his head, shakily taking the knife away from his face and putting it back in his side-pack with the handgun. He got up slowly, wiping the tears away from his face in the process, before looking ahead and taking a deep breath. "He really is here…Sonikku…he's still waiting for me…"

Shadow had saved his life so many times, and he'd never been able to return the favor…but he couldn't let his friend's death be in vain. No way, and he couldn't let his love down either. He had to go on. For Shadow, for Sonic, and for himself.

It hadn't dawned on him that even though the elevator should have dropped him off outside of the hospital, it just ended up stopping on the first floor, defying the laws of physics. He would never even notice till long after he left the place, and by that time it didn't even matter. For the time being, he was checking all the doors in the first floor main hallway. He could easily exit, but this was the only place he hadn't checked yet since the hospital changed. He desperately wanted to get away from the place, but he had learned by now that just running ahead and ignoring his other options wasn't the best idea, especially in a key-ridden place like this.

The only door that wasn't locked though was the door to the Director's Lounge. He pushed it open, weakly shining the flashlight into the medium sized room. It was strange – he had been pretty much backtracking his way back through the hospital since it had changed. There was a piece of paper on the desk in front of a large window, which he quickly walked up to and examined. It looked like a report of some kind.

'**Charmy Bee**

He has attempted suicide three times in the past for reasons unknown. Although he is normally a model patient who follows doctor's and nurse's orders, he must be watched closely due to his past pattern of sudden and violent suicide attempts.

Espio Chameleon

His illness seems to be rooted in the fact that he believes he is guilty of causing his daughter's death. His symptoms suggest a psychotic break and paranoid delusions. Normally calm, but has a tendency toward violence when excited.

Vector Crocodile

History of hospitalization as well as numerous assault, battery and other violent offenses. He has a strong persecution complex and a tendency to solve things through violence. Extreme caution necessary.'

"Hmm…" it didn't seem to be giving any useful information – even if it did, he wouldn't need it anymore since he was going to leave the place soon. Somehow, the names almost seemed familiar to him…but he quickly shrugged it off, looking around the place for something else of use.

He found it soon enough.

On the wall to the right of the desk was a map of Sonic Hill South Vale, like the one he and Shadow had found on the street and the other he had found in the bar so long ago. Except this one—like the one on the street—had red markings scribbled in several places on it. There was a circle around the gay bar, a house on LeCompt Street—a street not too far away from the one the hospital was on—the Gates Bar, a fast food restaurant he hadn't been to yet, the Rosewater Park, and the Sonic Hill Historical Society. From the house on LeCompt Street there was a red line that went from the bar to the park to the historical society, as if it was drawing out a path. In the middle of the circle around Rosewater park was the word 'STATUE'. The word 'WRENCH' was written in the circle around the house on LeCompt Street, and finally the word the word 'SHOVEL' written in the Gates Bar circle. As for the other two circles, nothing was written.

Not only that, but there was something written over Lake Toluca in neat red handwriting.

'**_He who is not bold enough to be stared at from across The Abyss is not bold enough to stare into himself. The truth can only be learned by marching forward. Follow the map. There's a letter and a wrench._**'

A weak smile formed at Miles's lips as he realized there was a connection. That note he'd read about earlier was talking about a key under the statue in the park. If it's the key to the museum like it said, then that means he could unlock the doors to the Sonic Hill Historical Society. Not that the place was somewhere he wanted to go, but what lie behind the historical society was of interest. He couldn't believe he hadn't even thought of this before, but there was a small dock behind the place.

If he remembered correctly, the Sonic Hill Historical Society was built right on the edge of the lake—just like Rosewater Park except a bit farther west. Basically behind and underneath the place was a dock he might be able to access through some door or something…if he recalled, it was a public dock so it shouldn't be too hard to find an entrance other than the one by the road, which was inaccessible thanks to another annoying chain-link fence with barbed wire. He was not sure of any of this though, and hoped that he was right. Looks like he was finally getting back on track. He felt some comfort in himself by knowing that.

Footsteps.

Miles's ears perked up from the sound—barely audible for it was very far away. He found who was causing it a second later by looking outside the window.

Amy was outside, her pink boots casually hopping across the street underneath her flailing dress.

"Amy!" he shouted. She didn't seem to hear him, but he would make her if he had to. Keeping the map, he ran out of the director's room, grasped the front glass double doors of the Brook Haven Mental Hospital, and pushed them open, breathing in the warm air from outside.

It wasn't the fresh air he had hoped for. Even some fog might have given him some sense of comfort about the situation, but both the cool air and the blindly thick fog were gone. It as if the whole town of Sonic Hill had been engulfed in shadows, for it was almost pitch black, his flashlight being the only source of light. The air reeked with the same stench that filled the hospital – the smell of rotting meat and gasoline everywhere, almost overwhelmingly bad. From what little he could see, the other buildings had fared just as well in the change of the town as the hospital had, all looking beaten, dirty, and broken, even more so than when it was misty. And most noticeably, the street…it was gone completely, replaced by metal grating like in the C Corridor. Below the grating was only more blackness, leaving Miles to wonder if it was a bottomless pit or just something invisible to the naked eye. He wasn't sure, but it didn't matter. What mattered most right now was catching up to Amy before she got too far away.

For the first time in well over six hours, Miles Prower left the Brook Haven Mental Hospital, never to return again. All he knew there was scarred memories and horrible monsters. While it was not very different out here, at least he had a goal to reach.

The clink of his feet across the metal grating rung in his ears as he ran down Audra St. after Amy. Catching up to her was surprisingly easy – he had spotted her pink fur and red dress right when he turned left at the end of Audra St. into Stiles St. There she stood—in the middle of the metal grating road—looking around casually like there was nothing weird about it.

"_Amy!!!_" Miles shouted, far past loud enough for her to hear. Fury was taking him over; an extreme hatred towards the little girl and how much trouble she had caused for him so far.

She was not scared by his shout, seemingly more amused than anything else. "You again." She said with a huge grin. "Did you learn your lesson yet?"

"Listen, this is no time for games. What the hell do you really know about Sonic? And where are you going!?"

"What would you care?" the pink-furred hedgehog asked, pushing her small gloved hand through her flattened out spines. "Meanie!"

Miles curled his hand into a fist so tight that his knuckles turned white. He gritted his teeth. "You caused all of this…if it wasn't for you, Shadow might still be alive…"  
  
"Shadow?" she asked, a small grin on her lips that opened up as she started giggling. "You're friends with your own shadow!? Hahaha!"

"Grrrr, this is serious! How come the monsters haven't gotten you yet!?"

"You're _crazy _too!" she said with a laugh as she pointed at him again, ignoring his question. "Maybe you should have stayed in that hospital. You think you can get to Sonic before me, huh? Do ya? Well, _I'm _getting to him first! Neiner neiner neiner! You can't catch me!" with that, she turned and ran down the street.

"Come back here!!" he shouted, running after her again. He was quickly gaining on her, his longer legs and older strength far surpassing hers. At least he was until she hopped on a bunch of boxes beside a brick wall similar to the one she was sitting on earlier and jumped over the wall, kicking the boxes over in the process. "No!"

"Haha!" her annoying young laugh, along with her footsteps, disappeared into the darkness. Miles smashed his fist into the wall in frustration. If it hadn't been for her, they would have never entered the hospital in the first place. He and Shadow had gone through a lot of trouble to save her and she didn't even have an ounce of gratefulness for it. His profound hatred for the little girl grew for a moment, and then diminished as he let out a sigh and looked around.

"Goddamnit." he muttered. It was too late to stack the boxes again and climb the wall after her - she was already long gone. If monsters didn't get her, he hoped he would run into her again in the future and get some questions out of her at least, if not save her. As much as he didn't like her, she was still just a little girl. And little girls—hell, even _adults_—shouldn't be running around in this hellhole of a town.

But, it seemed, they did regardless.

---_Later…_---

While it was inconveniently next to a dead end like before, the gay bar was the closest circled place on the new map. Miles walked out of it, feeling that sense of dread and devastation wash over him again as he thought about when he and Shadow had been there earlier…thinking of it seemed to bring the pain in doses rather than all at once. There hadn't been anything useful in the bar, but there was something of interest. All the furniture in it was broken and thrown aside, and in the middle of the room stood a statue of a muscular human male holding his hand out. In its hand was a large purple emerald, just like the two he'd found in the hospital. Once again, not something he felt he would need, but he had taken it anyway. It was a very rare item to find.

Now he was jogging back down Audra St., evading the straightjacket monsters and mannequins as much as he could. They seemed to suddenly infest the town again right when he left the bar, and that wasn't good. Luckily the streets were so wide that he didn't have much of a problem avoiding them. The shotgun was now strapped to his aching back again, and he now had his handgun equipped in case any of the weaker monsters got too close for comfort. Thinking of how Shadow had been using the gun earlier only made him stop and become overpowered by that feeling of lonely angst again. After a few seconds, he recovered as much as he could and continued running.

While insanely different, the streets of dark Sonic Hill had the same layout as before, and after running down Stiles St. for a little while he eventually made it to the intersection between that and LeCompt St. If he continued forward, he'd enter East South Vale, and pass by that same trailer he had found the body next to when he'd entered the town a million years ago. He wasn't sure if that road would still be blocked off, but it didn't matter – he had no interest in going that way.

So instead, he turned left and ran up LeCompt St. There were a few houses along the road, and if he continued forward for a few more minutes he would eventually end up back at Doggie Avenue. On the way there he would pass by the intersection on Mission St., which led past the apartment buildings and farther into East South Vale. The town layout was becoming simplistically easy to memorize, though it was a lot harder actually moving around the place than just thinking about it.

What mattered most right now was finding that house circled on the map. He ran along the dark side walk, looking at all the houses he passed by but also trying to keep his eyes on the path ahead so he wouldn't run into any monsters. The static from the radio was almost constantly going on and off, for there were lots of monsters littering the area. One of the houses he passed by had a broken window with a mannequin inside of it, alerting him that they were even in the dark corners of all the residential houses. Thinking about that scared him. Imagine, monsters really under the bed and in the closet, hiding behind the stairs and limping down the dark empty hallways. Had those monsters killed all the citizens here? He wasn't sure, for he hadn't seen very many corpses of anything remotely human or furry in the town at all, other than the occasional one every once and a while. Seeing more of them would almost make him feel better about the situation, at least explaining the lack of population in the place.

While he was contemplating why there weren't many bodies there, he had accidentally passed by the house that was circled on the map. Stopping by a mailbox, he noticed he had forgotten it and turned to walk back. Two houses later, he stopped at the short front gate of the old fashioned two-floor wooden house. There was a short stone path leading up to it—going in-between two small lawns of dead grass—that led to a stoop for a front porch. The porch, of course, was right in front of the closed doorway of the house. More importantly, there was something on the railing for the porch, which he guessed was what he was supposed to be looking for. Pushing the black gate open, he walked up the path and the porch steps, turning at the door and looking at what lie on the edge of the wooden railing.

Like the map had said, there was a piece of paper – a letter, with an old wrench laying stagnant on top of it like a paperweight. Grasping the wrench, he looked at it closely for a second and then put it into his carrying bag to join the emeralds, the map, the first aid kit, and the ammo for his shotgun and handgun. Then, he picked up the piece of paper and read the contents scribbled onto it in the same handwriting that was written in red on the map.

'**_Or perhaps you are a fool. The truth usually betrays people. A part of The Abyss is in the old society. The key to the society is in the park. At the foot of the praying woman, inside of the ground, in a box. To open it, I need a wrench. My patient buried it there. I knew, but I did nothing. It made me uneasy to have such a thing near. I wasn't looking for the truth, I was looking for tranquility. I also saw that thing. I fled, but the museum was sealed as well. Now no one dares to approach that place. If you still do not wish to stop, Miles, I pray to the Lord to have mercy on your eternal soul._**'

His heart skipped a beat. Whoever had written this knew who he was, somehow. Not only that, but whoever had written this knew a lot more about the town than he or anyone else did.

"The Abyss…?" he whispered, wondering what the hell that might be. It was mentioned on the map too…looks like he was right about before, there really was a key in the park that is for the Sonic Hill Historical Society door. If he needed a wrench, that must mean that the box was held together by a screw…

Whether he liked it or not, he had to go and check it out. He had to find Sonic…

First though, he knew he had to check out those other things listen on the map. The Gates Bar, and that one fast food restaurant – Happy Burger. Cheesy name; he hated those kinds of fast food places. Stepping off the front porch of the house, Miles began to jog back down the dark streets, taking Mission Street past the Creekside and Woodside apartments he had been to long ago. He went down that street, passing by a few straightjacket monsters along the way, until he reached another intersection between Mission and Manson St. All this running around was making him tired, more so than he had been after going through that hell of a hospital, but he had to keep going. Continuing forward, Miles went across the intersection and spotted the Gates Bar on the left corner between Mission and Manson. From the outside, it didn't look much different from before when the town was foggy. He grasped the handle and pulled the glass door open.

A few steps into the bar, and he heard something move. Cautiously, he looked around, thinking that maybe if the static wasn't going off that meant it was something other than a monster. Another movement was heard, and he shined his flashlight into the corner, surprised to see who was there.

"…hey, is that you Rouge?" he asked. The batgirl let out a shriek, making him jump with fright.

Rouge spun around, dropping an already broken bottle in the process. It hit the ground and shattered to pieces, only adding to her terror. He held out his hands, trying to make her relax.

"Whoa, calm down. It's only me." he said. He felt very glad to see her still alive - he hadn't seen her in ages.

"D-don't come any closer…" she said, backing away. The look in her eyes alerted him that she was very afraid. He turned around, expecting to see a monster behind him but not. She was looking directly at him.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" he asked, taking a step forward.

"_STOP!!_" she cried, backing into the wall and screaming. "_GO AWAY!!!_"

Suddenly she jumped forward, pushing him down. He landed on his butt, letting out a small yelp of pain and looking up at her in confusion. Tears flowed down Rouge's cheeks, and he only saw her for half a second before she charged out of the room, pushing the doors open and running till her footsteps faded away.

"What the…?" he asked himself, slowly getting up. That was very weird; she hadn't even given him a chance to talk before she ran away. Baffled by the event, he looked to where she had been hunched over where he had entered the room.

Glass covered the floor, shards glinting off the light from his flashlight. There was only enough glass to support half a bottle of booze though, like the bottle was half broken off already. There was no rum on the floor, but instead a few droplets of blood. As if—

'_She cut herself again._' Miles came to the conclusion. '_But…she's still alive…I wonder what's happened to her when I was in the hospital…_'

There was something else on the floor. He kneeled down and picked it up; an old photograph. In the photo was a family of four. There was a tall, thin female bat, looking rather young considering she was holding a baby in her hand. Next to her was an even younger looking female bat, this one looking about six or seven. To the right of the little girl was a second tall bat, whose face was barely visible, for there was a large tear on that part of the photo. From the looks of the rest of its body though, it was a male. Maybe a father…

'_Is this her family…?_' he asked. Looks like the photo was very old – not only was there a large tear, but there was also quite a few scratches and tears in other places, like the photo had been carried around for a very long time and suffered the effects of age and use. The younger female bat had the same features of Rouge, only missing the large bosom basically. It must have been her…

"I'd better keep it and give it back to her." He said to himself, putting the photo in his fur-pocket next to Sonic's photo. "In the meantime…where's that shovel?"

He looked around the shattered bar, trying to find where that shovel was that the map mentioned. His eyes widened in horror when he saw something written on the wall, where there had been a different note written earlier. There was large bloody handwriting dried onto the brown walling, leaving a message that was clearly meant just for him.

'**_if you really want to see your precious sonic you should just DIE_**'

The amount of blood it must have taken to write that was far too much to be from one person's wrist, so it couldn't have been Rouge…who was it then? Miles didn't know, and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know. Being there made him feel extremely uncomfortable now, so he tore his eyes away from the cryptic message and looked around the main pub part for the shovel.

Where the map had been laying that morning was a small garden shovel. Grabbing it, Miles ran out of the Gates Bar for the final time, not wanting to go there ever again. It had scared the hell out of him. Now all he had to do was check out the Happy Burger, and then head for the Rosewater Park where he would hopefully find that key…


	17. Into The Abyss

****

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 17: Into the Abyss

------

'**June 25th, 2008**

The police announced today that James Sunderland, who was arrested on the 18th of this month for the brutal murder of Travis Mills and his sister, Shanna, committed suicide in his jail cell early in the morning on the 22nd.

According to the Police Statement, Sunderland used a wooden soupspoon to stab himself in the neck, severing his carotid artery. By the time the guard discovered him, Sunderland was dead from blood loss, with the spoon buried 2 inches into his neck.

An old school mate of James Sunderland's from his hometown of Ashfield said, "He didn't look like the type of guy to kill kids. But I do remember that just before they arrested him he was blurting out all sorts of strange stuff like "He's trying to kill me. He's trying to punish me. The monster…the red devil. Forgive me. I did it, but it wasn't me!"

The school mate then added, "I guess now that I think of it, he really was kind of crazy."'

Miles put the magazine back in the Newspaper rack and looked up at the sky, digesting all that he had just read.

"The Red Devil…"

Didn't sound like the town had very healthy residents even before things got all weird. Pyramid Head's helmet was red…Miles shrugged it off, hoping that there wasn't any significance about the article that he had just read.

He'd already exited the Happy Burger, finding nothing but another strangely colored emerald, this one aqua. It was now stored in his handbag like the other three. He was creating quite a collection here. While he was at the Happy Burger he also looked around for some food, but didn't find anything that wasn't rotting or molded over. So now he stood on the corner of Doggie Avenue and Cloud Street, only a short distance away from the Rosewater Park. He'd decided it'd be best to at least check out the newspaper rack that he spotted, but found nothing but that magazine. Nothing else of it seemed interesting enough to read, so he decided it was finally time to head back to the park and check out that statue.

Crossing the street, he ran down the sidewalk for a short period of time till he finally reached the park entrance, getting a strange sense of déjà vu. Not too far away from where he was now was that old alley that led back into the back entrance of the Creekside Apartments, but he had no intention of ever going back there.

The sign saying the park's name on it was written over with red spray paint, saying 'Blood Swamp' over the letters spelling out 'Rosewater Park'. It made him uncomfortable, like everything else in the town seemed to, but he had more important things to worry about than that. He ran into the park, taking the path he had taken on the way to where he met Shadow

(_shadow…_)

and where he had spent so much time with Sonic in the past. Except rather than going to the main lookout deck, he took a left turn at one of the smaller paths that led into the center of the park. It took a while for him to find the goddess statue, but through the never-ending darkness he found it, standing erect and holding its angelic hands out in prayer. At the bottom of the statue was a pedestal.

'**Reach Your Hands Out To God And Pray For Your Forgiveness**'

He didn't recall seeing it say that before when he and Sonic had been there three years ago, but he also didn't recall the town being anywhere near this weird, so he decided not to think too much into it. Kneeling down before the goddess, he pulled the shovel and the wrench out of his carrying back. With the metal shovel in hand, he jammed it into the dirt, prying chunks of brown minerals everywhere. Thirty seconds of digging later, the shovel hit something hard.

"Hm?"

He dug around the hard spot, coming up with the box that the director had spoken of. After digging enough around it to comfortably grab it, he did so and pulled the box out of its grave, placing it in front of him. The top of the metal box was screwed in, proving to Miles that he was right about before. Grasping the wrench, he unscrewed the metal top and pulled it open, revealing a shiny golden key. Picking it out of the box, he read the words printed on it.

'**Sonic Hill Historical Society**'

"Finally, the museum…" a smile threatened to grow on his dry lips, but ended abruptly when a loud, familiar sound echoed throughout the whole town.

Sirens.

"Not a-again…" he cried, suddenly feeling a strange sensation throughout his body. Extreme light-headedness overcame him, and before he knew it he was on the ground, consciousness fading away into the dark pits of his mind.

----

…

…

…

…

…

'_Sonikku…_'

__

A new warmth surrounded him, loosening his tense muscles. Opening his eyes slowly, he was practically blinded by eternal white light. Someone's warm gloved hands were holding him up, petting his forehead down to the rip of his two tails slowly and calmly. Looking up, he gazed into Sonic's beautiful green eyes. He was lying in his blue hedgehog's warm embrace.

'My heaven…'

'I'm still waiting for you, Tails-chan.' Sonic's smooth voice whispered. 'Don't give up.'

Smiling, Tails closed his eyes, worry pervading his mind along with the relaxed enjoyment. 'No…Sonic…don't go…Sonic…Sonic…Sonic…'

-----

"Sonic…"

Miles sat up quickly, his three long orange locks of hair at the top of his forehead jumping as if trying to escape from his body for a second until they fell back down flat against him. He put his hand to his head and shook it, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Was it all…just…a dream?" he asked himself.

Looking around, he was surprised to see he was not only still in the park, lying on the soft dirt in front of the goddess statue, but the park had changed again. Fog filled the world, along with a very cold chill in the air. He was back in the misty Sonic Hill park. For another second, he thought possibly that everything involving the hospital and Shadow was just a nightmare, but putting his hand to his back, he felt the bloody bandages hugging his skin, along with another dose of pain in the large gash still there.

"No…it wasn't…" he felt almost relieved at that thought, while also saddened by what had happened earlier that…day? He wasn't sure what time it was at all, but he did know that he must have passed out again right after he had gotten that key…

Looking at the carrying back around his left shoulder, he opened it and looked in, surprised to see that it was almost empty. The four emeralds he had gotten were gone now, but the shotgun ammo box and handgun clips were still there. On the ground right next to him was the golden historical society key, which he grabbed and threw in the bag with the ammo.

He got up, slowly brushing the dirt off of his fur and then looking around. That was so weird. The town really _had _changed back…it didn't make any sense to him, but things in this town rarely did. Now that he had that key, he must get to that museum…

And so, Miles left the Rosewater Park, taking Doggie Street all the way past the gas station and Pete's Bowl-O-Rama up the road towards the broken bridge. The cool air of the town felt more comforting than scary now, after having to run around in that stuffy and stinky hospital and all the other places. The fresh air felt very good against his face and within his nostrils and breath. After jogging for a long while, he stopped at the parking lot he passed by, leaning down and panting heavily, the coldness of the air stinging the back of his throat slightly. He gave himself a few seconds to recuperate before he began walking again, passing by all the dead empty cars. Only a few straight jacket monsters and mannequins tried to get in his way on his jog down Doggie Street, but they took little effort to evade. The large front double doors of the Sonic Hill Historical Society stood before him, just waiting to be unlocked.

That dream had given him even more new refined hope that Sonic was there, enough to inspire his tired soul to continue forward. Now, it was time to enter the museum. With a sigh, Miles slid the golden key into the slot and turned, unlocking the double doors and allowing him access to the place. He pulled them open, took one last look at the foggy streets of Sonic Hill South Vale, and entered the Sonic Hill Historical Society.

The first hallway, like many before it, was dark and annoying. Except unlike that of the hospital and apartment hallways, there was a window somewhere in it that shined in a nice calm white light from outside. The hallway was shaped like a T, the entrance being where Miles stood right now, on the left part of the T. It branched off to the right a few yards ahead, and continued forward a few more yards past that to another set of double doors. To Miles's right and a about five feet away from the front door was a third set of double doors with the words 'EXHIBIT ROOM#1' carved into a metal plate on the front of it. Better check every room as he passed them by. Miles tried those doors, groaning in frustration when they didn't open. Like countless other doors in the town, it was locked.

"Damnit…" he muttered silently, turning to move down the hallway. When he got to where it branched to the right, he turned and walked down the even longer hall. At the very end of this hall was a rather large window, from which he could see only white fog outside of. That must be what is lighting up the room, he guessed. On the left side of that window was a fourth set of double doors. He pulled the handgun back out of the carrying bag, just in case some trouble arose. Once he reached the double doors, he pulled them open and peered into the new place.

He turned his flashlight back on; shining it upon a medium-sized stodgy room full of statues that circled around it. Center stage, drawing most of the attention was a pedestal with a large book on it. Curious as to what it was doing there, the young fox walked up to the book and blew off the blanket of dust coating it. Picking the book up, he read the gold lettering written on its leather-bound cover.

'**Book of Lost Memories**'

"Hmm?" Opening the book, he was surprised when a small silver key fell out of one of the pages and clinked onto the floor. He picked the key back up and read the words 'Main Hall' carved into it. Pocketing it, he looked back at the opened book with gold-lined pages, noticing a strange symbol written on the inside cover. It looked like a large triangle with a circle around it. Weird little symbols and writings were on the inner perimeter of both the triangle and the circle, looking similar to the writing he'd seen on the inner rim of all the rings he'd found in the hospital earlier. Underneath the shapes there was a word written in very strangely shaped English letters: 'CHAOS'.

"Weird…" he whispered. Flipping through the pages, he saw an extremely large amount of writing inked onto every sheet of paper, until he reached the last page. At the bottom it said the book's full-page number: 666. Flipping back to the first page, he decided to check out at least some of what the strange book had to offer. He didn't want to stand there and read the whole damn thing of course, just basically see what it was talking about since it interested him. The index was in the first page, so he turned to the second one, reading what was written in English.

'**Chapter I: Lost Memories**

The name comes from the legend of the people whose land was stolen from them.

They call this place "The Place of the Silenced Spirits." By "Spirits," they meant not only their dead relatives, but also the spirits that they believed inhabited the trees, rocks and water around them.

According to legend, this was where the holiest ceremonies took place.

But it was not the ancestors of those who now live in this town that first stole the land from these people. There were others who came before.

In those days, this town went by another name. But that name is now hopelessly lost in the veils of time. All we know is that there was another name, and that for some reason the town was once abandoned by its residents.'

****

-_SLAM!_

Miles closed the book shut and jumped, whirring around and looking at who stood at the doorway.

"Eggman!"

The fat bald man took a step back in surprise, immediately hiding something behind his back. "Oh, Miles. W-what are you doing here?"

"You've got a weapon too?" Miles asked as he pointed at Eggman's arm, which he noticed was holding a handgun in it before he hid it away. "Well, that's good."

Raising an eyebrow, Eggman asked. "You don't mind?"

"Of course not. We _do_ have to defend ourselves from the monsters in this town. I've got my own too, see?" Miles said, trying to be friendly and holding up his handgun, then pointing it at the shotgun strapped to his back.

"Ah, I see…" the large pale man's eyes scanned the room, his tense shoulders lowering, showing he was relaxed now. He looked to his left at a statue of a goddess pouring water. "Monsters, eh? I guess that's an interesting way of putting it…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Miles considered that they're not the usual type of monsters he'd seen in horror movies and figured that's what the tall man meant. He nodded in agreement, feeling very glad again to see other life in the town. It was hard to believe that while he and his deceased friend were running around the hospital, the others had still been fighting for their lives in the town too. Although his conversations with Eggman had proved to be unpleasant thus far, he was glad to see the fat old man was okay.

"Eggman, I have to ask you something," he said, a question suddenly plaguing his mind. "Why are you here?"

"I could ask the same about you. What the hell are you doing in this town?"

The young fox thought of hiding it for a moment, and then decided it really didn't matter anymore. Sighing, he admitted. "I'm looking for my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Eggman asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "You're gay?"

"Well…yeah." Miles said as if he was ashamed of it—which he hadn't been since those horrible high school days. He stared down at the floor for a moment, and then looked back up at Eggman, a bit more anger showing in his tone of voice than he intended. "You've got a problem with that?"

"No, no, of course not." Eggman said as he walked up to the statue and placed his hand on the bowl. "I'm not homophobic or anything, you just didn't come off as gay."

Miles couldn't tell if that was a compliment or an insult. But either way it was best not to get in an argument about it. "Good…" he said. Then another question came to mind. "Hey, did you see that little brat again?"

"Amy?"

"Yeah."

"No, she ran off. Haven't seen her since she left the bowling alley."

"I saw her a little while ago…as much as I hate her guts, I can't let a little girl run around in such a dangerous place like this…"

"Um…right…" From the sound of Eggman's voice, Miles got the impression the man really didn't care. What he did care about seemed to be the book though. Pointing at it, Eggman asked. "What's that?"

"Oh, this? I don't know." Miles turned and placed the book back on the pedestal, opening it and laying it down to rest. "I just found it a second ago, didn't get to read much of it yet."

"Let me see that!" the fat man ran up and yanked the book out of his hands. Eggman placed two of his long gloved fingers on his tiny spectacles and adjusted them, reading the cover with interest. Miles really couldn't tell if they were glasses or goggles, but either way with them on he just noticed he couldn't see Eggman's tiny eyes. "Book Of Lost Memories, eh?" the man asked.

"Yeah, I was about to read some more of it, but…it's probably a just waste of time. I really need to check out the rest of this place…"

"I'll stay here and read it." Eggman said quickly. "If I figure out anything, I'll let you know. Okay?"

Miles looked at Eggman nervously. "Um…okay. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Right." Eggman turned and started skimming the pages closely, already seemingly lost in the book. Miles turned and walked out of the room.

'_At least Eggman and Rouge are still alive…_' he thought as he closed the double doors behind him, leaving Eggman alone in the dark room.

It was time to check out the rest of the museum. Miles ran back down the hallway, making a right turn at where it branched off in two different directions and ran up to the double doors parallel to the entrance. Using the key he found in the Book of Lost Memories, he unlocked the doors and pushed them open into a very large new room; the main hallway of the museum.

It was two floors high, the second floor being nothing but a catwalk surrounding the perimeter. In the middle of the room was a giant set of bones—similar to ones he'd seen in dinosaur museums—of an animal that he couldn't recognize. Whatever it was though, it was huge. The room was shaped like a square, except for a little narrow hallway on the far right wall that turned right, leading up to a stairs and passing by two restroom doors on the way there. There was also a set of double doors on the center of the left wall. In the back of the room was a large group of windows, all looking out into the white fog, which cast grim gray lighting over the shadowy room. What sounded like a music box was playing very distantly somewhere else, but Miles couldn't pinpoint it.

'_I should check the first floor first, then move up to the second…_' he thought to himself, strategically planning what his next move shall be.

There didn't seem to be a map of the place, but luckily the historical society wasn't very big – at least not from what he'd seen of it so far. He took the double doors into an L-shaped hallway on the west wing of the museum, which was just as well-lit as the first hall he'd entered before he ran into Eggman a minute earlier. To his immediate right was a single door—the first one he'd seen since he entered the place—marked 'STORAGE' with a bronze plate. That door was locked, unfortunately, so he moved down the hall and turned to the only place he could, left, to stare down the longer section of the hall. In the back, just like the T shaped hall he had been to earlier, was a gritty glass window shining gray light as far as it could. Next to that window though was yet another set of double doors on the left wall, along with a second set closer to where he was standing now. Exhibit Rooms#3 and 4, he guessed.

Moving down the hall, he tried Exhibit Room#3 to see that it too was locked, so continued down until he reached Exhibit#4. The door opened easily, revealing a room like the one he had talked to Eggman in. Statues surrounded the perimeter of it, but in the middle was a large statue of a rather attractive looking young male raccoon wearing armor and holding out a long shiny sword. Stepping closer for a better look at it, Miles noticed that the sword was a real one. Its sharp edges glistened off of his flashlight's beam. Also, from the looks of it, the hand was loosened enough to take the sword out of. Grinning, Miles grabbed the hilt of the sword and eased it out of the statue's grip, taking it off and swinging it around a few times, admiring the swift sounds it made as it cut through the air.

"Sweet!" he exclaimed. Looks like he had a new weapon now, one that would put the long gone steel pipe and wooden plank to shame. Sword in hand, Miles walked back out of Exhibit Room#4 and took the hallway back to the main hall. Didn't seem to be any other place of interest in the first floor – the rest room doors were unlocked but had nothing of use in them. So Miles had no other choice but to check out the second floor.

Jogging up the straightforward steps, Miles reached the second floor and walked across the catwalk surrounding the perimeter of the main room. The second floor had the same exact door positions as the first one, but the doors leading to the hallway above the T-shaped hall in the front of the museum were locked, leaving Miles with no other choice but to examine the hall above the L-shaped one. Those doors were unlocked, so he pushed into the new hall.

It was similar to the L shaped one below, and even had a storage room on the right wall like the other one did. Except with this one, some music was coming from the other end of the door, telling him that this was where that music box sound was coming from. Cautiously, he grasped the handle and pushed the door open, hearing the music instantly grow a thousand times louder.

The room was completely empty, looking very old and barren. There were only three notable things about it. One: In the back of the room was a broken stained glass window, and through the hole left in it you could see only more endless fog. Two: In front of that window was a rather large wooden music box player, about a foot long and wide. It was creating a very creepy and loud ten second musical tune that just kept on repeating itself over and over and over again. And finally, in front of that music box sat Rouge, curled up in a little ball and staring blankly at it, her black folded up wings facing the two tailed fox.

"Rouge…?"

She didn't bother to turn around; instead she just kept her tired gaze on the music box. "Who is it?" he heard her haggard voice ask.

"Miles."

"Ah, I thought so…"

"Um…" she wasn't saying anything more. Miles pulled the family photograph out of his pocket and walked up to her, his shoes making an uncomfortably hollow sound on the old wooden flooring. "You forgot this when you left the bar. I thought you might want it back."

Kneeling down beside her, he handed her the photo. Rouge, her eyes still focused on the music box, took the picture from his hand and looked at it with an emotionless face.

"Thanks." the bat said bleak and cheerlessly. She reached her hand out forward and placed the torn up photo on the floor in front of her, still keeping her eyes on that endlessly playing music box. Backing up, Miles stood a few feet behind her.

"I saw what you did earlier. You've got to stop cutting yourself."

"I'm sorry," she said right away. Miles didn't know how many times she had said that so far to him, but it was a lot more than seemed normal for someone her age. "It's not easy…"

"I know…it's like an addiction, almost. I used to do it too…" he looked at the dusty floor, memories of those horrible days before he met Sonic returning again. "But you need to stop."

"…did you find your boyfriend?"

Miles felt like he was being ignored. "No, not yet. I got…off track. But that's not important right now, Rouge. Are you listening? You need to stop."

There was a silence between the two. The mystic melody continued to drone on.

"Okay…" Rouge said calmly, and not very convincingly.

Sighing, Miles really didn't know what to say anymore. Eventually, he came up with something. It seemed just like their second conversation in the apartments…

"Did you find your mother yet?"

"No."

"Your brother, your father?"

"I don't know…"

'_What's _that _supposed to mean?_' he wondered, feeling like he definitely wasn't on the same page as her.

"Well, I hope you find them…" he said. "Listen, we should really stick together. It's only gotten worse since we last talked. Teamwork is the best way to get out of here."

"I don't want to leave yet."

"Yeah…I don't either." Miles stated. "Um…I think Sonic might be at the Lakeview Hotel. I'm going to look for him there. The other half of Sonic Hill is on the other end of that lake you know, maybe you can look for your family over there too."

"Yeah…"

"Uh…" Miles scratched the back of his head and looked around the empty room. He really pitied her, and especially since Shadow had…died, he really didn't want to run around alone anymore. It was like the hedgehog's death had proved to him once and for all that anyone could get killed in this place. "Rouge…well, I don't want to just _leave _you here…"

"It's okay, go on without me," the female bat said. He was very precarious about leaving her, but she seemed to really want to be alone, and just standing there wouldn't change her mind.

"Okay…" Miles said. "But I'll be back, okay?"

"Sure."

Not wanting to leave the girl alone, but not wanting to stay there either, Miles left the 2nd Floor Storage Room.

The L Shaped hallway held Exhibit Room#5 and Exhibit Room#6 within it, so Miles decided to check them out. Opening the door to Exhibit Room#5, he scanned the interior.

There were two statues in the center of the room. One statue was of a short human peasant with its arms spread out, exposing his chest, which had a small rectangular hole in it. The other statue was a few feet in front of it and it was of the same warrior as in Exhibit Room#4, except this time the warrior's arm was stretched out towards the peasant as if he was holding a weapon in his hand. Miles looked at the two statues, quickly figuring out how this puzzle must have worked, and put the sword in the hand of the warrior. He stepped back as the warrior statue's fingers moved mechanically and wrapped around the sword's hilt. Then, the warrior statue began to slide slowly across the pedestal it stood on until its new blade slid into the chest of the peasant statue like a key through a lock.

"_AAAAHHHHHH!!!_"

Miles jumped as an agonized scream blared out of someplace on the peasant statue, sounding like it was inside a tin can. There was another hole in the back of the peasant statue, similar to the one on its chest. From that hole the blade's tip stuck out now. Though the reenactment was grotesque, it had worked for Miles's benefit – on the tip of the blade was a small key on a ring. Disturbed at the sight, Miles pulled the key off the tip of the blade and examined the name written on it: 'STORAGE'.

'_Jeez, great place to put this key…_' Shaking his head, Miles walked out of the room, not even wanting to look at the horrible scene permanently depicted there.

Before he left the 2nd floor L-shaped hallway, Miles checked Exhibit Room #6 to see if it was locked. Unfortunately it was. So, he went back to the main hallway, took the catwalk around it, went down the stairs, and re-crossed the main hall to enter the 1st floor L-shaped hallway. Using the key, he opened the storage room door and walked in.

It was exactly the opposite of the second floor storage room – this one was packed full of crates and random junk. They were aligned in an almost labyrinth-like way, but in the very back Miles had spotted another music box, just like the one on the second floor. Except this one didn't have a music box plate in it…Miles took a wild guess that maybe this puzzle would be just like the last and walked back out of the storage room to ask Rouge if he can borrow the music box plate on the 2nd floor storage room. Annoyed at the inconvenience, he took the stairs back up to the second floor and took the catwalk back into the L-shaped hallway, opening the door and walking back in.

Rouge wasn't there.

"Rouge…?" He asked, surprised she had seemingly left so quickly, even though she knew he was going to come right back. Sighing, he walked to the back of the room, where the music box still droned on and on. He turned it off and grabbed the oversized golden plate; picking it up and carrying it on his trip back downstairs. Once he reached the 1st floor storage room again, he placed the large plate in the music box and turned it on.

That creepy childish tune played just as well and as loud as before, but once he turned it on a small panel opened up in front of the music box, pushing out a tray with a bronze key on it. Weirded out by the puzzle, Miles picked up the key and read the words on it.

'**2nd Floor Hall**'

"Ugh…" Frustrated at having to backtrack again, Miles walked back up to the second floor and inserted the key into the double doors above the T-shaped hall double doors.

'_This is so weird…_' he thought to himself. '_The puzzles here are just as random as the ones in the other places. Why did Rouge leave anyway? And where did all the monsters go?_'

It seemed that since he had left the streets and entered the museum, he hadn't seen any monsters at all. He wasn't complaining at all – this was very good for him and everyone else – but it seemed that the monsters just didn't come to the historical society for some reason…why would that be though? Maybe it's just a place the monsters happened to not come by yet, or something. He didn't know. In the meantime, he had to worry about figuring out…well, he didn't even know. He just knew he had to do _something _to in order to progress on.

The 2nd floor T-shaped hallway, just like the L-shaped one, was basically identical to the one on the first floor. Except, for this one on the left turn, there were double doors on both sides of the hall. Meaning that maybe the room parallel to the locked Exhibit Room#1 was two separate rooms on this floor. He tried the door parallel to Exhibit Room#1's door only to find it was locked, so he turned back at the corner and went down the longer part of the T, trying the door on the right wall first because it was closer.

This room was Exhibit Room#8. The main object of attention was a large model of a boat in the middle of the room, surrounded by a glass case. It looked like some sort of public cruiser, but Miles couldn't tell. He read the golden plaque nailed onto the wooden pedestal holding the case up.

'**Silent Voyage**'

And below it:

'**In memory of the sixty seven who died and now sleep beneath the lake.**'

"The sixty seven who died…?" Miles whispered to himself, feeling a bit afraid. How had sixty-seven people die at once? And why hadn't he heard of them before?

A loud, mangled roar reverberated throughout the Sonic Hill Historical Society, making Miles jump and spin around. It stopped right away, followed by that maddening silence.

"W-what was that?" he asked, his voice shaking with fright.

Like so many questions he'd been asking lately, no answer came.

Turning, he continued looking around the room, pulling the shotgun out from behind his back just in case. It was best to stay calm and finish checking the place out before he got freaked out. He remembered that note that dead person had left around the beginning of his journey through the town, and it had said to try and stay calm and not panic. While not fully managing to do that, trying to keep his cool and think rationally was probably one of the things keeping him alive so far.

There was a small block of stone on the floor not too far away, reaching up to about the level of his chest. On that stone was a strange looking black mask, appearing almost demonic in its features. Miles figured maybe he was supposed to place it somewhere like with the other puzzles, since it looked extremely out of place with everything else, and it was the only thing in the room without a glass case. He grabbed the mask and left the room. Quickly, he ran a few yards to the door across the hall and to the side of the Exhibit Room#8 door, the door to Exhibit Room#9. Opening the double doors, he shined his flashlight in the new room.

In the very back of this room were three statues, all looking large and seemingly god-like. Each had a similar face as the mask he had just gotten, except for the middle one, which had its hands stretched out and was holding a large silver emerald within its grasp. That statue had no face at all, looking bare and expressionless. Miles looked down at the mask, and then walked up to the middle statue, standing on his tiptoes and sliding the mask onto the god's face. Once he did, a soft click was heard and the god's grasp of the emerald loosened.

Miles grasped the emerald and pulled it out of the god statue's fingers, examining it closely. It looked just like the other four he'd found and lost as he progressed on. Though it still seemed useless, he couldn't help but put the emerald in his bag and keep it for the time being. Since that was the only thing of interest in the room, he walked back out.

-_Thump…_

-_Thump…_

-_Thump…_

Miles fur stood on end and he looked down he hall, hearing a strange thumping noise every few seconds, like something large was walking his way. Grasping the shotgun tightly, he stood his ground and stared at the hall, waiting for whatever to happen next to happen.

And it did.

A large hand reached around the right corner of the hall, digging into the walling with its long sharp claws. Miles's heart skipped a beat as he realized what it was.

Letting out an ape-like howl, the skinless gorilla jumped around the corner and landed on the floor about ten feet away from the scared fox. Miles let out a cry of terror and pointed the gun forward, squeezing the trigger and firing a burst of shotgun shells just in time to stop the monster as it suddenly charged at him, crossing a long distance in an extremely short amount of time. It fell to the floor in response to the blast, now only a few feet away. Before it could get back up, Miles squeezed the trigger again and felt that usual pain in his arm as the weapon fired and recoiled back into his shoulder. Blood squirted from the gorilla's chest onto the wooden floor and it let out another roar, but it still wasn't dead. Miles tried to fire again and heard that horrible click, telling him the gun was empty.

"Shit!" he cried, opening the carrying bag and yanking out the box of shotgun shells at lighting quick speed.

His mind was beginning to panic, and through the adrenalin rush he quietly told himself to try and stay calm. Yanking the box open, he saw only two shells were left within it, but those two might just be enough to save his life. As fast as he could, he reloaded the weapon, successfully doing so before the beast fully recuperated. Unfortunately, before he even had enough time to re-aim the weapon, the skinless gorilla looked up at him, and he—fearing his life—looked back into its empty eyes. A second later, it was on top of him, and he was holding it back with the same weapon that had saved him countless times before.

The monster continued letting out mangled grunts of hunger and rage, trying desperately to tear the small fox to shreds. Miles cried out in response, instinctively kicking it in the stomach with his right leg. This didn't knock the wind out of the monster, but stalled it for enough time for him to roll over, pushing the weapon against the beast in the process. The end result was both of them switching sides; Miles now on top of the monster while the gorilla was below him; its slick skinless body rubbing against his furry knees.

Jumping up, Miles spun around and sprinted down the hall, stopping and the end and turning—gun raised—just in time to shoot at the beast before it rammed right into him again and tried to mangle him. A split second before he fired though, the monster jumped in the air so high that the shells only pierced into its belly. While this still didn't kill it, it slowed the gorilla's assault down enough for it to land right in front of him instead of on top of him. Pumping the shotgun, Miles pointed the weapon right into its chest. It looked up and let out another terrible roar, which mixed in with the roar of the shotgun as it sent a fourth tide of shells into the monster's body. The power the shells had on its body by being fired at point blank range made them shoot right through the screaming monster's chest. Chunks of its bloody heart ripped out of its back along with the scattered bullets, splattering onto the floor behind it. With one final scream, the monster fell backwards and spazmed for a second before finally dying.

Panting heavily, Miles pumped the shotgun, thinking about the fact that that was his last shell. Looks like his fears proved real, there really _was_ more than one monstrous gorilla walking around. Thinking of that scared him even more. Rather than sticking around and watching the pool of crimson form around the monster, along with the stench of more dead flesh, he ran out of the 2nd Floor T-hallway and back into the main hall.

'_No more shells…_' Miles said, trying to hold back an urge to vomit. '_Not good…I guess the monsters really do come to this museum now…maybe they sniffed me and the others out or…something…_'

A small amount of sweat had formed on his furry brow, but he was alright. For now, at least.

There had been no more keys, as far as he knew, so his only other option now was to check on Eggman and see if the man found out anything useful. Wedging the shotgun back in between the belt around his chest and his own back, and equipping the handgun, Miles ran back down to the 1st floor and then to the 1st floor T-shaped front hall.

"…what the hell?"

The once locked double doors to Exhibit Room#1 were gone now, completely. The walling around its hinges looked bruised and broken from where he stood right now. Running up to the doors, he looked in to see that the doors were on the floor of the room, looking bent up and destroyed as if someone, or some_thing _had blown it open with something very, very powerful. Shocked to see this, Miles remembered about Eggman and quickly sprinted down the turn in the hall to check up on the man and alert him.

When he opened the double doors to Exhibit Room#2 though, he found that the man was gone, just like Rouge, and he had taken the book with him too.

"Him too…" Miles whispered, brushing his hand nervously through his scalp for the millionth time that day. "What's going on here…?"

He had to check out Exhibit Room#1, since it was the only room left open—apparently forced open—in the whole museum that he hadn't checked yet. Walking back to the hole in the wall, he stepped over the bruised and beaten doors, checking out the exhibit room.

The room was full of broken glass cases, which probably held rare artifacts before they were raided. Miles didn't know, and like many things, he never would. There wasn't much anything in the room but broken glass. But, there was a half-opened door in the back, so he walked up to it and shined his flashlight into the smaller area.

There were a few paintings lining the dark room, each looking old and worn like they had been made over a hundred years ago. The one to his immediate right when he entered the room was that of a strange small stone room with an even stranger square hole in the middle of it. Underneath the painting, three words were written:

'**Into The Abyss**'

That sent a shiver down Miles's spine. The letter had mentioned The Abyss earlier…

On a painting about the same size a foot away from that was what looked like a very large building. Upon closer inspection, Miles realized that it was the Brook Haven Mental Hospital. Underneath this painting, there were quite a few words written:

'**Brook Haven Mental Hospital (1880)**

This hospital was built in response to a great plague that followed a wave of immigration to this area. It was originally little more than a shack, but it gradually grew and grew.'

'_Goddamn hellhole…_' Miles thought to himself, being overcome with memories of that horrible place again. Another crack appeared in his heart just by thinking about it, much to his dismay. He held the thoughts back with all his might, biting his lip as if to physically counter the mental pain, and moved on.

He turned around and looked at the opposite wall, the one to the left of the entrance door. The first painting he spotted was what looked like the beautiful Lake Toluca, except like the other paintings, it looked extremely old and dusty.

'**Waterfront Landscape**

Robert Smith, 1820 (D.O.B. and death unknown)'

'_Weird…_' Miles looked to the wall beside it, not seeing a painting there at all. Instead was an awkward looking square much brighter than any other part of the wall, like someone had recently taken the painting there away.

Wondering why, Miles looked to the back of the room, and almost screamed at what he saw before him.

This painting was large, much much larger than the other ones. While the other three paintings looked old and dusty, this one looked bright and new, as if it were painted very recently. It was not the fact that the painting stands out that had scared him so badly; it was the content of it.

'_Oh my god…_'

Within the illustration, Pyramid Head stood, its giant rusty knife in hand. Its red helmet, which had brought so much discomfort and terror to the fox in the past, was staring directly forward, as if looking at Miles from within the painting. Around its cadaverous body were several cages hung from the ceiling, each holding an upside down mutilated corpse within them. The air around the horrible monster and its caged corpse collection was dank and misty looking, just like the foggy streets of the town. At the bottom of the painting, one line was written:

'**Misty Day: Remains of the Judgment**'

He tore his face away from the painting, horrified to see even an illustration of that _thing_. What the hell was that doing _here_!? And who had created and put it there, more importantly? Miles didn't even want to know, he just desperately wanted to get away from it.

When he tore his face away, his eyes gazed upon yet another truly strange sight – there was a huge hole in the wall. It looked like maybe there had once been a door there but the whole door and the section of the wall around it had been ripped down, leaving behind broken shreds of wood. Behind the hole there was some stone walling, which lead down into darkness. Shining his flashlight down it, Miles realized it was a stone staircase. Though his flashlight was at fullest power, it still ended abruptly in the darkness far below, telling him that the set of stairs was very very long, and the length of the steep stairs matched the depthness of the shadows it led into.

'_Into The Abyss…_'

He didn't have to say a word; he suddenly knew where he was going, where he _had_ to go. Once he went down those steps, there was no turning back. He could still leave, run back to his car and leave the horrible town of Sonic Hill forever. Or, he could keep going forward, descending into the darkness of The Abyss, past the point of no return, and have a chance of finding Sonic once and for all.

'_Escape…?_'

'_Sonikku…?_'

Though he feared what he would face down there, he knew he must if he hoped to see his true love ever again. With a nod, Miles Prower made his choice. He knew what he wanted. No longer did he really care very much about his life, no longer did he really care much about the pain he'd felt and most certainly would feel. That was all expendable, disposable. All he really, truly wanted was his beautiful Sonic back.

Without looking back, Miles Prower stepped through the hole, and began to descend the steps into the eternal darkness below.


	18. Deep Into That Darkness

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 18: Deep Into That Darkness

------

-_Clopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclopclop…_

The never-ending darkness surrounded its new victim, feeding upon his vision as he ran deeper and deeper down the steps into the earth. It almost seemed, to Miles, that the stairs would never end. He'd already been running down them for six minutes, but there was still no sign of a bottom in sight. Considering how close the historical society had been to the lake, the stairs should have been entering the water by now, which confused him to no end. Was he just running in place or something? Would this lead him for an eternity deeper into the darkness of The Abyss?

Long he walked, deeper and deeper into that darkness, wondering when his journey would end. His trusty flashlight was beginning to dim, not lighting the steps ahead of him quite as much as before. A small bit of fear—nothing compared to what he had felt many times before, but still clinging to its own bacterial existence—was drifting through his soul, fear that the light would go off and leave him alone in the black this far underground. Part of him wanted to turn away and run back up the steps, but the other part of him felt the much stronger need to continue on and see what lay ahead of him. Besides, he wasn't even sure if he could walk all this way back upstairs without his legs crumbling below him from exhaustion at this point.

He felt very tired, not only from jogging down this endless stairs for the past seven minutes, but from all the running around he'd done earlier that…he wasn't even sure if it was the same day anymore. Time didn't seem to exist in Sonic Hill.

And if it did, it most certainly didn't in The Abyss. In any case, his legs felt weakened. He hadn't been into running, unlike Sonic who seemed to practically have a fetish for the activity. He was pretty sure he hadn't run this much consecutively in his entire life.

And he'd be running for a while longer. Ten more minutes of going deeper and deeper underground, the tired fox's hope was beginning to fade with the brightness of his flashlight. Like times before though, enough motivation to continue on came just in time to stop him from giving up completely – the bottom of the extremely long stairs came into view. A dark, shadowy steel door stood not too far ahead, which the young fox stopped at and held onto as he tried to catch his breath. He must have been at least a mile underground by now, probably even more…

Having an empty doubt that he'd ever see the light of day ever again, Miles grasped the handle of the door and opened it into a small dusty square room. A few desks lined the walls, and it looked as if it could be a checkpoint of some sort for visitors.

'_Is this place still considered part of the museum?_' he wondered. '_…did people come down her all the time or something?_'

Hell if he knew. All the desks were covered with dust, and had absolutely nothing on any of them, telling him that the place hadn't been used in a long time either – probably even more so than in most of the other places in town. In the back of the room was another steel door. Miles walked to the door and went past it, entering a long stone corridor with a few forks and turns in it, almost like a labyrinth. Luckily, there weren't many dead ends or anything, but all of them had locked doors. That is, until Miles reached a broken door in one corner, which looked like it were moments from falling off its hinges entirely. Placing his foot on the metal, he kicked it open, revealing another small square room like the other one. Dust-covered desks lined the place, but that was all that was noticeable, except for another steel door on the other side of the room. Miles went through that door and entered a second twisting and turning corridor. He was walking through this one for an even shorter amount of time than the last before he spotted the door in a dead end. Opening it, he shined his light into the new room.

"Whoa…"

It was just like the painting: a very small room with an even smaller square hole in the center. It was big enough to fit maybe six or seven people in at once. That was the only thing in the entire square cube, so Miles leaned forward and shined the beam of his flashlight into the hole. Only more darkness down below: no sign of a bottom at all…

'_That painting…_'

It scared him, but he knew what he needed to do. Just like with the stairs, he really didn't have any other choice anyway. Only one answer came to Miles's mind. It was suicidal, insane, but so was the town. It was his only way.

'_Jump._'

Clenching his eyes shut, and trying not to think too much before he did it, Miles leaped off of the ground and down the hole. Gravity quickly dragged him down at blinding speeds, giving his body that horrible feeling of ground zero. Deeper and deeper he fell, until finally his furry body collapsed onto the hard cold gravel floor below.

---_Later…_---

Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…

Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…

"…ugnn…"

Moaning from the headache that overcame his mind the moment he regained consciousness, Miles eyelids slid open, only seeing blackness everywhere.

Sometimes, he wondered if he'd be better off if the jump had killed him.

He slowly got up, rubbing his head in the process, until he was on his knees. Somehow the flashlight had turned off, leaving in utter darkness, but he soon enough spotted the object clipped onto his chest and turned it back on, illuminating the dark well he was in and stinging his eyes with the sudden change in brightness. Miles waited for a few seconds for his pupils to adjust to the light, then looked around the place.

It was as if he'd fallen to the bottom of a very large and deep well. The dark stone walls circled around him, leaving no trace of a door or escape hole or anything. Looking up, Miles saw only blackness like he had seen before he had jumped.

'_Shit, I'm stuck._' He realized rather bluntly, running up to the walls and feeling them to try and see if he could find a way to climb back up. There were none, the walls were far too perfected to do that. '_Not good…_'

Now he _really _wished that the fall had killed him. He was stuck down here to starve to death, if he didn't blow his brains out first. Why would they build all this just to lead to the bottom of a well though? Miles didn't understand that at all…

In a final attempt to find a way out, Miles began to feel along all the walls, hoping beyond all reason that somehow he'd find a hidden door or…something.

…

…

…

-_Crack!_

A few minutes of desperately searching later, he placed his hand on one of the bricks on the ground level and was surprised to see it move the slightest bit. A quiet cracking noise emitted throughout the huge well, bouncing off the walls in unison with Miles's grunts of strain while he tried to push the large stone forward. Then, he got an idea. Taking the empty shotgun from behind his back, he put the handle of the weapon onto the brick and began repeatedly slamming it against the wall, pushing it a few centimeters each time.

Though he knew the gun was empty, pushing the handle against the wall with the barrel aimed at him made him feel very uncomfortable. That didn't really matter though, so he just kept pushing. Eventually, the large stone moved so far back that it fell out from the other side.

-_Splash!_

"Huh?"

Curiously, the baggy blue-eyed fox stuck his head through the new hole in the bottom of the wall and saw an underground steam of water, like some sort of pipeline or sewer. He couldn't tell – the water was clear enough to see through, but still didn't look very clean. Either way, it was the only way out. Miles was just small enough to fit through the tiny hole, so he put the shotgun back on his back and got down on his hands and knees, crawling through the gap. Since he crawled in head first, he ended up falling headfirst into the dirty water once he got far enough in.

"Ugh…" he said, getting up so he was kneeling in the knee-deep water. "Great…"

He remembered how much Sonic hated water…he didn't hate it as much, but that didn't change the fact that dirty sewage water was not fun to swim in. Where could this water be coming from, this deep underground? Getting up, Miles shook the wetness off his fur, not completely throwing it all off. He brushed the three long locks of hair that were plastered to his face out of his eyes and shook his head around again. His shoes and socks were already soaked, and they wouldn't dry out for a long while. Just when he thought he couldn't feel more unpleasant, it got worse. Figures.

Sighing, Miles decided to look on the bright—well, dimly lit is more like it—side: at least he wasn't still in that dark well. He looked down both ends of the rather short waterway. The end behind him was inaccessible because some metal bars blocked the way, letting only the water through into the shadows of the tunnel. The end in front of him though had bars too, but also had a ladder on the left wall leading up to a small corridor about ten feet above him. Sloshing through the knee-deep wetness, Miles grasped onto the rusted metal and climbed up the ladder, feeling the water increasing the weight of his carrying bag and side pack. Once he got to the top, he stopped at the edge of this tunnel and slid his hand into his pocket to find Sonic's letter and photo had gotten moist too, but not as much as everything else. Good thing – he didn't know what he'd do if he lost those too…

Miles pulled Sonic's photo out and stared at it for the first time in a while. Just doing that inspired him more to go on – he missed him so much…

The sound of running water echoed in the distance, becoming quieter and quieter as Miles walked farther down the tunnel until he reached the heavy steel door on the left wall. Grasping onto it, he pulled it open and entered the new place, shutting it behind him.

In front of him was another square hole in a room just like the last one, except this time the room was blocked off to him by a metal gate. The area he was in was a thin corridor that stretched both left and right. Since he couldn't go straight forward, he took the left hall. The right one seemed to just dead-end a few yards away. There was only one door on the left hall, which he opened up into an extremely small and cramped concrete cell, not too different from the one he'd found that freaky doll in at the hospital.

On the floor a few feet in front of him was a key, lying there like someone had placed it there on purpose. It seemed like a trap, almost, and this time if Miles got screwed over he had no one to save him. But he had no other choice, so he kneeled down and picked up the strange looking key. The words 'Spiral-Writing' were written onto it.

And the very second he laid eyes upon those words, Miles Prower was engulfed in darkness.

It took him a few moments to realize it, but his flashlight battery had finally run out, leaving him alone in the pitch-black cell. Fear overcame him again and he thought about what might happen if he couldn't see at all. Never before had he been in such a small dark place as this, and there was no way he could survive without some sort of light. As the batteries died, he feared he would too soon enough.

'_Nonononono…_'

And then he remembered, when he was in the mental hospital storage room he had picked up a dry cell battery! Reaching into his carrying bag, he grasped what felt like the battery and pulled it out, feeling very very glad that he had stumbled across it so long ago. Taking his flashlight, he opened the top and tried to jam the battery in, only accidentally putting it in the wrong way. Upon taking it out, he felt the weight of the flashlight leave his arms, and the sound of it hitting the ground was heard.

'_Shit. Dropped it…_'

Kneeling down blindly, Miles reached around to try and find where he dropped the flashlight. Hopefully it didn't break in the process, he'd have to find out soon enough—

—something small with thin needle-like legs crawled across his fingers.

"_Aaah!_" he cried, pulling his hand back. '_What the _fuck _was that!?_'

That feeling he felt on his hand a second earlier moved across his feet, making him jump a bit and kick his foot around. Whatever it was, he couldn't see it. As fast as he could, he reached down again and blindly grabbed around for the flashlight. For a second he thought he had it, until the thing beneath his fingers squirmed and moved away, making him shake his hand away again. He reached around again, crushing the body of one of the small creatures on the way on accident, until he grasped what felt like the flashlight. Standing up, he jammed the battery into it and closed the lid, turning the flashlight on.

Hundreds of small cockroaches crawled the walls, ceiling, and floor of the tiny cell, coming seemingly out of nowhere. Seeing this brought Miles to a sudden panic, and he scrambled to the door—crushing one roach's body under his wet shoe in the process. In less than a split second he was on the door, trying to turn the handle. But it wouldn't turn. Lady luck seemed to enjoy fucking him over, because it had somehow locked from the other side. He muttered a few rapid cusses, terrified of the tiny little bugs surrounding almost every square in of the claustrophobic cell. Looking down at the knob, he saw there was a lock there that hadn't been there before. There were three number rolls, each with number one through four on them. It seemed he had to put in a combo, but he had no idea what it was. At lightning speeds, he tried rolling in several different combinations, desperately trying to escape the room before the cockroaches crawled all over him.

He felt one of the hundreds of roaches crawl up the back of his leg, sending shivers down his spine. Terrified, he kicked his leg in several directions, only catching a second roach in the process. Still randomly putting in numbers with his left hand, he flung the bugs off his leg with his right. More and more roaches began to crawl up his damp shoes as he rapidly tried the combos. As he continued kicking and squirming with terror, he heard a click when he finally put in the correct combo: 341. Immediately, he shoved the door open with all his might and ran into the concrete hallway, slamming to door closed behind him. He ran down the corridor, kicking the remaining bugs off his shoes in the process, until he reached the gate and unlocked it with the Spiral-Writing key, opening and slamming it behind him. He screeched to a halt just in time to stop himself from falling down the hole.

Trying to catch his breath, he shook his head. He _hated_ cockroaches, and the very thought of being locked in a small room with a plethora of them made him shiver with fear. Amazing how those bugs could freak him out just as much if not more than the monsters in the town. He never understood why things were like that.

While he was still slightly on edge from the experience, Miles was overcome with an abrupt but strong feeling of unwanted solitude. He hadn't realized till just now how lonely he was. It felt like years since he left the hospital…the paranoid fox made a wish that he'd find some way out of this place soon, and more importantly, find Sonic…

In the meantime though, he was alone, and more than a mile underground. Looked like he'd only have to go deeper before he could get out – the hole in front of him looked bottomless, just like the last one did. He knew he still had to jump down it to continue forward. His mind wondered how many of these holes there were – he didn't want to jump down anymore. But he would if he had to.

'_Sonikku, I won't give up…_' he thought to himself, looking into the darkness of the pit. Wishing again that it'd end soon, Miles jumped down the hole into the dark depths of the underworld below.

-----

Deeper into The Abyss, he goes…

Will he escape…?

Nobody knows…


	19. Land of the Sinners

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 19: Land of the Sinners

------

Groaning lightly, Miles felt himself once again return to the world of horrible gray consciousness. His body still hurt like hell, but now the pain was now more focused on his torso than his back. Slowly, he crawled up to his hands and knees and looked at his new surroundings, rising shakily to his feet. There were darkly lit tables everywhere, lightened up only by the new beam of his flashlight. Surrounding the garden of tables he stood in were some grim, dirty looking stone walls. From the looks of it, it was some sort of cafeteria or mess hall – there were some far-past-rotted scraps of food strewn about on dirty paper plates.

Then, the smell overcame him, that disgusting aroma that had invaded his senses far too many times already. It was the smell of rotted, dead flesh. He looked at where the smell was strongest to see dead body of a male dog illuminated on the table to his left. The dog's brown furry body was riddled with bullet holes. His sticky guts oozed out of his cottage-cheese stomach and onto the rotted wood, created the horrible aroma that emanated throughout the room. That wasn't all though; there was another body, laid out on the same table. A pale blonde male human. His wide, dead eyes stared blankly up at the pitch-black ceiling. Blood seeped out of a large bullet hole on his white forehead.

'_Jesus…_'

Something moved.

Miles jumped when he heard the shuffling sound and shined his light forward, seeing a figure shielding its face from the light. Though he was shrouded in shadows, the man appeared to wear a red and white jacket with long black skintight pants, which seemed stretched out on his large belly. Miles was surprised when he realized who it was, and his thoughts were confirmed when the man moved his hand away from his face to reveal himself.

"Eggman!" Miles's dry voice exclaimed.

Eggman sat there, gun in hand, looking at him with his eyes squinted halfway shut. Miles noticed he no longer had his glasses on, revealing his very small eyes, which held within them very dilated gray pupils. Once the bald man's eyes adjusted to the light, he realized who it was and got an almost maniacal look on his sweaty face. An expression of a newfound happiness was etched onto his features, like a teenage boy who had just stumbled upon a porno magazine.

"Hey, killing someone ain't no big deal…" Eggman grinned wide, his shaky voice matching with his facial expression: excitement mixed in with surprised understanding. He placed the head of the gun on his temple and made a suicidal gesture. "Just put a gun to their head and BANG!"

"_What!?_" Miles's jaw dropped, shocked not only at what he was implying, but also at the fact that Eggman was all the way down here. "Y-you _killed _them!?"

"It wasn't my fault!" the fat man said quickly. "H-he _made_ me do it!"

Looking tense, Eggman glanced at the corpses and then back to Miles with an expression of utter terror. Miles held his hands out, trying to calm the panicked man down. "Calm down Eggman. Tell me, what happened?"

Red whiskers trembling, Eggman's eyes darted down to his gun, then back up to Miles, narrowing with anger. "He had it coming! H-he just came after me!" Leaning farther back on the wall, Eggman slid up to his feet cautiously. "B-besides, he was looking at me funny with his eyes."

"Just for that you _killed_ him!?" Miles jaw dropped in bewildered horror.

"What do you mean 'just for that'!?" Eggman shouted, seeming offended at the short fox's disapproval. "He was making fun of me! Just like they _always_ do! So was that stupid friend of his, so I fucking shot his ass too!"

Miles took another quick glance at the dog's corpse, then back at Eggman. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Eggman, you can't just kill someone just because of the way they _look_ at you!" he cried, the fear showing in his voice.

Eggman looked down at the floor for a second, hiding his strange eyes from Miles's view. Staring down as if in deep thought, he chuckled and looked back at the fox, smiling mischievously. "Come on Miles, you thought I was _serious_?"

"Huh?"

Rolling his eyes, Eggman threw his arms up in the air and spoke reassuringly in his usual tone. "I was just kidding! Sheesh, they were like that when I got here. I was only fuckin' around with ya. I'd never killsomeone."

It was no joking matter, but the fat man seemed to think so. Miles felt relief, but also a slight bit of anger towards the man for scaring him. Why would Eggman kid like that?

"Anyway, I've got to go. See ya Miles." Eggman did an 180º turn and grasped on to the door handle not too far away.

"Wait!"

"What?" the gray eyed one looked at him, annoyed.

"You're going out there alone?" Miles asked.

Eggman didn't seem to consider how dangerous it was and just nodded, telling the fox as if it were the obvious thing to do. "Well, duh." Turning, he pulled the door open and exited, slamming it shut behind him.

Lowering his hand, Miles glanced at the two corpses again. If Eggman didn't kill them, who _did_?

'_Ooh man, I hope he really was kidding…_'

The stench of the bodies was horrible, but it seemed best to check the room like he had all the others first. It really did seem to be some sort of underground cafeteria, but for what? He didn't know, and he wasn't sure if he was going to find out any time soon. Checking out what was behind him, he shined the light onto what looked like a rectangular block of wood. He took a closer look at it to see words were carved into it with a knife – 'GLUTTONOUS PIG'. Very random, but Miles had the feeling he'd need it for something in the future, so he picked up the tablet and stored it in his carrying bag.

Another survey of the mess hall proved useless, except for a single item on one of the tables on the opposite end of the room as the two corpses: a thin magazine brochure. Picking it up, he read the content on the first page. A large picture of Lake Toluca, similar to the painting he saw of it in the museum, took up half the page. Below the photo though was some writing.

'**Legend of the Lake **

Toluca Lake, the town's main tourist attraction. This clear, beautiful lake has another side as well. It may seem like just a typical ghost story that you might find in any number of old towns across the country. But in this case, the legend is true. On a fog-bound November day in 1918, the Silent Voyage, a ship filled with tourists, failed to return to port. A newspaper article from back then simply says, "It most likely sunk for some reason." Despite an extensive police search, not a single fragment of the ship nor any of the 14 bodies of passengers or crew has ever been recovered to this day. In 1939, an even stranger incident occurred'

Many pages were torn out. Miles looked at the only page left.

'**many corpses now rest at the bottom of this lake. Their bony hands reach up towards the boats that pass overhead. Perhaps they reach for their comrades.**'

"So…Lake Toluca is haunted?"

That was a scary thought…all those happy memories he'd shared with Sonic in the Lakeview Hotel and Rosewater Park, which not only overlooked the lake but also was partially built on it…Had their memories been on a land tainted by horrible tragedies in the past? He guessed most land was, but…thinking of that happening within the past hundred years felt awkward and somewhat depressing. Maybe it was only a legend…but he didn't know. He was just about ready to believe anything in this distorted town…

Putting the magazine back down, he turned and walked out of the cafeteria to search the rest of the underground place.

-CLANG-DE-BOOM!

-CLANG-DE-BOOM!

-CLANG-DE-BOOM!

-CLANG-DE-BOOM!

Miles eyes danced across the corridor, failing in its investigation of that strange sound's source. It sounded like someone was trying to start a broken chainsaw or something, and from wherever it was he couldn't tell what direction it was coming from. The distant sound of clinging gongs sounded from afar too, joining the strange noise in a maddening song-like beat. What was going on in this place?

The corridor he was in stretched to his right and to his left, so he wasn't sure which direction to go to first. There was a table next to the cafeteria double doors, which he spotted a piece of paper on. Walking up to it, he realized it was a map. In the center of the map was the large square room titled 'Cafeteria' meaning he must be on the long hallway right outside of it. There were a series of hallways in the place, two of which hugged the cafeteria until they led into another vertical corridor on to the other side of the building. There was a Visitors Hall that should be behind the wall in front of him too, while the rest of it was for those who lived in the dark place. On the top of the map, the words 'Toluca Prison' were written.

'_An underground prison…?_'

Sonic Hill was making less and less sense. He never heard of the town having a prison before…probably because it was over a friggin mile underground. Things only seemed to be getting weirder and weirder…

He didn't know where to begin his search…so he cautiously walked up the right end of the hall, handgun drawn. It would probably be best to check out the Visitor's Hall first, so he tried the south visiting room, shining the light and almost jumping when he saw his own shadowy reflection glint off of a window. It must have been one of those rooms where the visitors got to speak to their captive friends or relatives, which would explain why it was divided in half by a large window and a desk. Miles didn't want to waste any ammo to shoot the glass down, because it was pretty likely the window was bullet proof. If he wanted to get to the other side, he'd need to try another route. There was very crumpled up piece of paper on the prisoner's counter though, which he picked up and tried to read. It was so old and crumpled up that it was barely legible.

'**F-ve n-- -ri---ers were --n- h-re today. E-ch seems t- h--- -- -nt-------- -tory. **

1: Mikeu M-to--y-. Con--ct-d of se----- a-sau--, c--ld mole------n, and murder with - dead-- --apon. 6 ----im- w-re questioned, th---- -- is believed there may possibly be ---- ---------

2: Light H-dget w-s c--v----- of mass murder. He ------ up -- -3 people – H--- Beach –h------ --------.

-: ------ -------- --- ----- -t--- -. –h- ----- --- --- ---e-- ---. A ---- ----, b----- --- ---- ---y ---. S- -- --s --- ---- --'

His eyes widened in fear as he saw the words 'The Abyss' spelled out. That couldn't just be a coincidence…

Shaking his head, he put the old paper down and looked through the glass to see if there was anything of use on the other side. A small metal lighter glinted off his light, but that was all.

"Damn…"

He exited the South visiting room and took the door only a few yards away from it – the north visiting room.

The table and glass in this room that blocked him from the visitor's part of the prison was destroyed, completely. It seemed just like the work of whatever or whoever had broken the doors in the historical society down – whatever it was, it was very big and very powerful. Shards of glass and splintered wood covered the floor around the huge gap, sprinkling up to the visitor's corridor doorway. Big scary monster or not, Miles needed to check out that place. Then, if he didn't find a way out, he'd check the prisoner's section.

Static burst from the radio the moment he entered the visitor's corridor. He shined his flashlight down the hall and saw some of the light reflect off of the slick flesh of a straight jacket monster as it stood there, shaking its body around awkwardly. A single handgun bullet buried itself into the monster's skull a second later, and that was eternally where the slice of lead planned to sleep. Just like eternally the monster would sleep on the floor of that corridor, or at least until Miles exited and reentered the place later to find that it had disappeared. And it had—like the straight jacket monsters usually did—after he had reentered the South visiting room, picked up the lighter, and entered the visitor's hall again.

The visitor's corridor was simplistic – just a short corridor with a total of nine doors, four on each side and one on the end. The two back doors on the left wall were the two visiting rooms he'd already entered, and the two left doors farther down the hall were both marked 'Restroom' with one of those gritty stick figure people on the front. According to the prison map, the farthest door on the right wall was the guard's lounge. The other three right doors were all right next to each other, giving Miles the impression they were storage closets or something. It didn't say the name on the map. He guessed there must be a door leading from the visitor's section to the prisoner's section somewhere, but he couldn't find where it was listed on the map. He wouldn't need it anyway; he could just walk through the north visitor's room again.

It was unlikely there'd be anything he needed in the rest room, and he didn't need to use the toilet himself. But he might was well check it out. The men's bathroom door was locked, but the women's wasn't. The women's restroom proved to be just as dark, dirty, and quiet as the rest of the place. He remembered at the beginning of this long journey he had stared into the mirror at the restroom on the outskirts of town. What a different person he was then, never even imagining any of the horrible things he'd seen now.

Something made a sound.

He almost jumped when he heard it, the sound of a single footstep, like someone had jumped down onto the ground. It seemed to have come from the back stall, but he couldn't tell exactly. All the stalls were locked tight from the other side, meaning he couldn't get in unless he crawled under, and he sure as hell wasn't doing _that_. The floor looked like it hadn't been washed in years.

Stopping at the last stall, he placed his gloved knuckles on the wooden door and knocked a few times, half expecting to hear someone ask who he was. No voice came, no sound at all. Just silence.

'_I must just be hearing things…_'

Turning, he began to walk out of the room.

-_Thump!_

He jumped and spun around – something heavy must have hit the door. "H-hello?"

No response.

"Is someone in there…?"

Silence.

'_…just get out. Now._' Miles speed walked, practically charged, out of the restroom and back into the visitor's corridor. He was too scared to deal with that kind of stuff, and didn't even want to _think _about what could have caused that noise.

Unfortunately for him it wouldn't be the last strange noise he'd hear. The sound of that broken chainsaw starting up and stopping over and over again echoed in the distance for the second time, except now it sounded even louder.

-CLANG-DE-BOOM!

-CLANG-DE-BOOM!

-CLANG-DE-BOOM!

-CLANG-DE-BOOM!

That too scared him. He ran the short distance from the left wall to the right, opening the door in front of him – the guard's lounge. There were some bookcases, a few desks, and a bunch of other crap that Miles didn't care for. But there was an opened book on the desk with some neat-penned handwriting in it. The young fox read the content of the book, which turned out to be a journal.

'**_November 14th, 1869 _**

Prisoners do not feel remorse. In fact, they do not feel themselves to be villains at all. Even the most uneducated brute will use what little words he knows to justify himself. Such trifling dreams they have, flourishing even in the darkness. Prisoners, too, are no exceptions. No matter how foul nor loathsome one's own life and existence may be, mortal nature is abiding.'

That was the only date written on it, and it was on the first page, telling Miles the guard must have only written one entry in it before he…well, whatever happened to him.

"1869…" he said out loud. Had no one been in this prison since then? Aside from the two bodies in the cafeteria and Eggman, no one else seemed to be in the place and there weren't any more corpses lying around that he could see other than that one he'd created when he killed the straightjacket monster. No wonder the place had been so old and dusty, not to mention extremely hard to breathe in. If it wasn't because of the age that made it hard to breathe, it was the fact that it was so deep underground not even a radar could pick it up.

'_But…that magazine had a more recent article than 1869…so someone _must_ have been here since then…_' He was getting sick and tired of not knowing what was going on.

There was a wooden door on the right wall of the room titled 'Armory'. That gave him a little excitement, which died pretty quickly when he tried the door to find it was locked. Looks like he wouldn't be able to get any of the weapons or ammo that might be in there. Sighing, he walked out of the room and checked the rest of the visitor's corridor.

All the other doors were locked, except for the one on the end of the corridor not far from the ladies restroom and the guard's lounge. Miles tried that door, and it opened into another small hallway. Except _all _the doors were locked in this hall. One thing he took note of though was a strange trapdoor on the floor. The handle was missing, leaving two empty sockets where it should be. He couldn't open it with his bare fingers, so it was useless to try and see what was in the prison's basement.

'_Hell, the whole prison alone is like one giant basement…_' he thought as he walked out of the visitor's area and back into the main part of the prison.

There were four long cell corridors. North Cellblock A and B, which were north of the cafeteria (obviously) and had a total of four different entrances according to the map. The two on the wWest side of the prison he was on were locked, so he'd need to find another way to the other side. South Cellblock A and B were, of course, on the south side of the cafeteria. While the B block door was locked, South Cell Block A wasn't. Miles took note to check it out once he finished searching this side of the freaky dark prison.

The only other unlocked room on the west corridor of the prison was the shower room, which held surroundings not unlike that from the shower room in the mental hospital. The cold walls magnified his light breathing as he walked deeper into the showers and noticed something on the ground in the back. Another slide of wood, just like the one in the cafeteria. Leaning down—and feeling a slight bit of awkwardness thinking about what would happen to him right now if he lived in the prison and there were others in the showers with him—he picked the item up and read the words carved into the surface: 'THE SEDUCTRESS'.

"_ooooOOOOOOHHHH…_"

Miles spun around, handgun aimed, and fired at the straight jacket monster before it could make another move. It was on the ground dead with the radio static a moment later, and Miles was leaving the room with the tablet joining the other in his carrying bag, which was beginning to bulge with all the stuff crammed within it. Straight jacket monsters felt so trivial now, though they were still dangerous like everything else. Leaving the showers, the two tailed furry took a deep breath and opened the door to South Cellblock A.

A small but ever-present bit of static was buzzing from the radio, and Miles understood why pretty quickly. There were about ten small dingy prisoner cells that lined the right wall, while the other side had nothing but dirty concrete walling. Within a few of these cells, the twitching bodies of straight jacket monsters could be seen. How long had they been in there? Miles had wondered just that, but he didn't have any time nor patience to stop and check around, that is until he saw an open cell around the back of the corridor, barely visible in the darkness.

His flashlight beam cut through the ocean of blackness, lighting up a very strange sight. Inside the cell were various items that all looked like they were meant for some sort of occult. Candles lined the cell, along with various old books that were so withered and beaten up that the pages were completely illegible. On the bed sheets was a strange symbol painted in red ('_Blood…?_'), which Miles recognized as the same symbol he had seen on the inside cover of the Book of Lost Memories: An isosceles triangle with a circle surrounding it, strange ancient handwriting scribbled all over the edges. Underneath the triangle the word 'CHAOS' was written messily. In the very middle of the triangle was a clump of wax that he figured was supposed to be a doll – while it had no arms, it did have a circular head-like piece on the top.

'_Too weird…_' he thought. Maybe the guards let the prisoners practice their own religion, he wasn't sure, but it scared him either way. Backing out of the cell, he tried to stay focused on the task at hand and went through the door at the end of the cellblock, leading him into the east side of the prison.

The east side consisted of nothing but a corridor leading from the north to the sound end of the prison, just like on the west side. Except there were two sets of double doors in this corridor – both parallel to each other. The one on the left wall should lead to a room in the back of the cafeteria. Whatever that room was for, Miles would never know – the door was locked, and the name wasn't listed on the map. The second set of double doors though was unlocked, so Miles pulled them open into a gigantic room that seemed as large as the prison itself.

'_Whoa…_'

Concrete, the ground was not. Instead, it was just hard brown dirt. He didn't know what the room was used for, but it didn't even look like it had an end. Shining his light on the map, he saw the words 'Courtyard' written over the huge square he was standing in.

Gun pointing forward and ready to shoot anything that moved, Miles moved across the open surface of the underground arena. He continued moving on forward for about twenty seconds before he saw something large appear in the shadows.

'_What the…?_'

It was a wooden platform with a stairs leading up to it. Suspended in the air above it was a single noose rope, which was held up by another piece of wood. From the looks of it, the mechanism was a hanging platform. Still full of so many questions, Miles wondered if the room was built so the prison staff, along with the prisoners could watch the next unlucky one sentenced to death be hung. It would be a good thing to make the prisoners behave, he guessed, but things like that seemed so immoral…

The stairs up to the platform were behind it, but there were three strange rectangular holes on the wooden wall facing him. A few seconds of contemplating what they could be for later, Miles came to a conclusion and pulled out the two tablets. He slid the 'GLUTTONOUS PIG' tablet into the rectangle the farthest to the left, and then 'THE SEDUCTRESS' tablet into the middle one. Nothing happened, to his disappointment, and he figured it was because he still needed one more. He left the large room, hoping he'll find the third and final tablet soon.

Since there was really only one place he hadn't checked yet that he could, Miles opened the door to the North Cellblock B. North Cellblock A was locked, so this was his only other option to go to. Right when he entered the room, some small static erupted again. Quickly he pulled out the handgun and aimed forward, eyes scanning what he could see from the beam of the flashlight. No monster was in sight, and no sound of it nearby either, but the static told him there must be one there. Creeping forward, Miles felt nervousness in his heart again. There was a row of about ten cells on the right wall, and normal walling on the left, so at least he knew the monster could only be either in front of him or to his side.

All the cells were empty of straight jacket monsters, so it must have been something else…but what?

-_Clink…_

-_Clink…_

-_Clink…_

-_Clink…_

The scared fox jumped a bit when he heard the sound of something tapping above. Looking up at the ceiling, he saw nothing. But there was a long stretch of grating in an area above the cells, looking like it was meant for storage or something. For a split second, he could have sworn he saw a clawed brown foot in the shadows of the area behind the grating, but it had disappeared too fast for him to understand exactly what it was.

"_ekatotluosym…_"

Miles jumped again. Something with a very deep baritone inhuman voice whispered from above.

"_drolehtyarpiekawierofebeiddlouhsifi…_"

'_Fuck! What the hell is that!?_' Miles cried in his mind. The beam of his flashlight waved back and forth as he looked up and down the grating again, desperately searching for whatever he had just seen a second ago was. But he couldn't see it – the shadows of the grating covered it from his light, and at this angle he couldn't see very much of the top area anyway.

"_peekot…lousymdrolehtyarpipeelsotnwod_." It spoke again. "_emyaliwon…Lautir…Lautir…Lautir…_"

Whatever language it was speaking, Miles didn't understand it. Suddenly, a soft squeak was heard, and the fox's eyes darted down the cellblock to see a metal barred door slowly open, its cage-like bottom dragging across the concrete floor. Scared out of his mind, Miles moved towards the door ever so slowly, handgun still gripped firmly in his sweaty gloved palms and pointing at the caged area above. Taking his eyes off of the space above, Miles glanced back at the opened cell door as he reached it. Shining the light into the cage, he saw three pieces of paper nailed to the wall. On each piece of paper was a drawing created and colored in various different crayons. All three of them looked like they were made by a kindergartener, but Miles got the impression it was made by a prisoner – he _hoped_ it was. If there was one place children shouldn't be, it most certainly was here. Stepping into the cell and trying to ignore the monster tapping against the ceiling above, he read the very badly spelled and handwritten words written at the top of each picture.

A drawing of a stick figure colored in red with various spikes sticking out of the top of its arms, legs, and head:

'**_buRNiNg maN_**'

The second drawing was what looked like a colored in woman. The only thing explaining the sex of the figure was her long brown colored hair. There was a red cape drawn over her body seeming to wave as she floated above a cloud-like plain.

'**_flieNg wolmaN_**'

And finally on the right side, a drawing of a square with a lot of dots inside of it:

'**_665 peeple at recital_**'

'_What the hell?_' he wondered. His eyes dropped down to the bed beneath the three drawings, and widened in surprised joy when he saw the third wooden tablet there. Picking it up, he read 'THE OPPRESSOR'. To his surprise, there was something underneath it. A small key, which had a tag on it saying the word 'Armory'. He picked that up too and put it in his pocket, feeling glad that he might be able to get some more ammo after all.

"_LAUTIR!_" the deep dark voice shouted, now sounding much _much _closer, almost as if it was shouting directly into his ear.

Miles screamed and jumped backwards, his heart skipping a beat when he felt something cold touch his back. Whirring around, he saw the metal bars of the cell were closed. Immediately he put the tablet in his carrying bag and the handgun in his side pack and grasped the metal blockade, pushing. The bars held, and he realized with sudden terror he was locked in the cell.

"Shit! No!" he cried, panicked and rapidly shaking the bars. His body was already beginning to sweat, and he took a few steps back, running and ramming his arm into the gate in an attempt to open it. But they still held. He took a few more steps back and did it again, this time pushing the gated door wide open and falling to the floor of the cellblock. The door smashed into the wall beside it and swung back. It would have hit Miles in the head, but by this point the fox was already down the corridor, trying to hold back a scream as sprinted out of the room as fast as he could..

Right when he pushed through the door of the cellblock and back into the east corridor, he slammed it behind him and put his back to it, letting out quick gasps of respiration while trying to calm himself down. His heart beat a thousand times a second, until he took a deep breath and put his hand to his chest. Seconds later, the fear had drained from his body and he was in one piece again.

"My god…" he shakily looked down at the floor. That had seriously freaked him out, but he was okay, and still alive. "What a day…"

That usual tired miserable feeling replaced the fear again, and he pulled the tablet back out and stared down at it. It sure better do something of use for him after putting it in that hanging platform, or he'd be pretty ticked off.

So, he went through the double doors in the middle of the corridor and began to jog deeper into the large dark courtyard, hearing his own footsteps across the dirt, along with the clopping of quick horse hooves.

'—_horse hooves?_' he stopped, hearing the horse behind him move for a second longer and then stopping too. Whirring around, he half expected to see a horse carriage behind him, ready to charge and trample him over, but there was nothing. Only darkness.

'_My imagination's getting too out of whack…_' he thought to himself, knowing that probably wasn't true. He was afraid that, if anything, his imagination wasn't strong enough to fully accept some of the monsters that he'd run into in this town, which would explain why he hadn't been in a complete panic throughout the whole trip.

Shaking his head, he continued to walk forward, only hearing his own footsteps now. Through the darkness, he eventually saw the wooden platform again. Once he reached it, he stuck the 'THE OPPRESSOR' tablet into the most right and final rectangle. Once he did, he heard a click, along with a half-second male croak of pain.

Shivering, the fox tried to shrug it off and looked around the platform, expecting to find a key or a secret door or something. There were none. In fact, absolutely nothing had come out of sliding those three tablets in there. Miles guessed maybe he was supposed to put them in some kind of order or something, but when he tried to pull the tablets back out of their slots, they wouldn't budge. Cussing under his breath, Miles turned and began to walk back to the double doors. That sure was a good waste of time and sanity.

But something really had changed, as it turned out. Resting on the left door handle was an iron horseshoe. He didn't recall seeing _that _before, but that didn't seem to matter, and it wasn't the first time something had suddenly appeared out of nowhere when he wasn't looking anyway. Grabbing the horseshoe and sticking it in his bag, he left the large open room.

Since there was virtually no other unlocked place he hadn't checked yet, Miles took the South A Cellblock (seemed like a much better idea then going back into the North B Cellblock, obviously) and went back to the west prison corridor. From there he took the North visiting room to the visiting corridor, then jogged to the guard's lounge. Finally, he unlocked the door to the Armory with the armory key.

All the glass cases in the armory were shattered, leaving nothing inside most of them but specks of broken glass. Inside the nearest case though were two handgun clips, turning his nine bullets left into thirty-nine. Excellent. Unfortunately there were no shotgun shells within any of the cases, but what lay in the back of the room made up for that by far.

The fox had become the hunter. Within the case was a clean, new-looking hunting rifle.

"Yeah!" he shouted, grinning and picking up the weapon. Checking it, he saw that it was fully loaded with seven shells. Unlike the shotgun, it had a thin strap attached to it, so instead of wedging it between his back and the belt he'd gotten from the hospital like the shotgun, he just threw it around his shoulder. He was feeling loaded down, carrying a bulging side pack, a carrying bag, a shotgun, and the rifle, but at least he was a lot safer now with a powerful loaded weapon in his possession.

Not too long after that, he began to worry that maybe the weapon would never be put to use, because he remembered he didn't have any more keys or leads left to continue on.

'_Shit, this isn't good…_' he thought. '_All those other doors are locked, except for the trapdoor, but I can't open that because it doesn't have a handle—_'

An insane idea came to his mind. An insane idea that probably wouldn't work, but it was worth trying. Maybe if he used the horseshoe like a handle, and somehow got his hands on something that could stick it to the trapdoor…

There was that wax doll in that one cell, and he _did_ have a lighter…

Hoping for the best, Miles ran back to the South A Cellblock and grabbed the wax doll off of the bed in the occult-ridden cell. Then, he backtracked back to the visitor's corridor and took the door at the end into the second corridor. Kneeling down, he pulled out the three items. The lighter's flame was hot but small, so it took a while for it to melt the wax doll. Eventually though, he had filled up both holes on the trap door with the melted wax. While it was still somewhat melted, he dipped the horseshoe into it and held it there for a long time.

Knowing that if it didn't work he'd be screwed over, Miles waited until the wax had dried out and hardened enough to stay still, and pulled on the iron horseshoe. To his eternal relief, it worked, and the rusty trap door opened up.

'_Phew…_' he thought. That was amazing – he felt almost proud of himself for thinking that ridiculous but good idea up. His flashlight illuminated the cement ground below, so it was safe enough to jump in. It seemed almost like the basement's basement of the hospital…but the prison 'basement' was built like the visitor's corridor. Five doors were in the room, two on each side and one at the end. Quickly he tried the four on the sides, only to find them locked. The steel door at the end, on the other hand, was unlocked. So Miles opened it into the next room.

Right when he saw what was within the new room, he covered his mouth and tried not to vomit. But the sight mixed in with the horrible aroma, and he couldn't hold it in any longer. Leaning forward, he puked up a river of yellowish green bile, croaking and crying out in disgusted pain.

He had entered the morgue. Stacks of dead, naked, rotting corpses were piled up around the room, along with a few others that rested inside eight holes along the walls with their feet sticking out and viewing the fox's gurgled cries. All the corpses looked and smelled like they'd been dead for well over a week, yet the room itself looked a lot older than that. In front of him was a cart with yet another corpse in it, but the room 'thankfully' spared him the sight of one more corpse. Its body was covered within a white sheet.

"Ugh…I hate this place…" Miles whispered after he emptied his stomach. Not only did he now look, sound, and feel terrible, but now he had that disgusting taste in his mouth, not to mention that horrible image of the place engraved in his mind forever.

For a second, he thought the cart with the corpse in it not too far away had moved. It sure looked like it did, but he couldn't tell, and he didn't want to know. He just desperately wanted to get out. Blinking rapidly, he ran across the morgue and grasped the two double doors at the other end of the room, pulling them open and slamming them behind him right away. The gritty, sickening air that lives in the prison seemed like a blessing compared to the air in that room.

'_This is too much…_' he cried in his mind. Just the single thought of a part of him still being in that room disturbed him, but thoughts of the morgue's scenery were pushed aside when he saw what lay before him now.

Another hole.

'_Jesus, how many of these are there?_' he wondered, glancing down the square hole into the darkness below.

The whole room looked just like the other two did, and he knew there was nowhere else to go—and even if there was, he would have already passed it and he did _not _want to go back into the room behind him now.

'_This isn't over._' He reminded himself. '_And I don't know when it will be, but for now I've just got to keep going…keep going…_'

Keep going.

Nodding, Miles closed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and jumped.


	20. The Labyrinth

**Sonic Hill 2: DX**

**Chapter 20: The Labyrinth**

------

Deeper into the darkness of the Abyss, the young soul fell. Deeper and deeper and deeper…

His head rung like an alarm clock when the everlasting pain awoke him from his sixth drift into unconsciousness. For the first five or six seconds he thought that that ringing had just continued on, but as the time passed by he realized that it wasn't just in his head anymore.

Sirens screamed in the distance.

Light dimly shined upon his body. He looked up to see there was another room ahead, which had some very yellow lights attached to some of the walls. It must have been a bathroom or something once – there was a sink sticking out of the far wall, along with a mirror Miles could see his own aged reflection in. But if it had once been, it was no more – the floor of the room was missing, and so was the ceiling. Only darkness could be seen both from above and below. Dazed and aching, the fox climbed to his feet, stepping up to the open doorway and staring down at the pit below. No one needed to tell him what to do next, and no one could, but he knew.

Closing his eyes again, Miles let go of the doorway he was using to support himself and fell forward, feeling that amazing gust of wind shoot through his fur as he descended deeper still into The Abyss.

---_Later…_---

'_Sonikku…_'

Miles eyes unshielded themselves, and he slowly got up, feeling dizzy from the fall. It didn't seem possible for him to survive all of these seemingly endless holes, but he did regardless. The sirens screeching had stopped, and in this place there was only that usual nerve-wracking silence.

Attentively he regained his senses and brightened the beam of the flashlight, which had shut itself off somewhere along the way. Just another dark corridor, except there were no doors in this one and the ground wasn't made out of cement – instead it was just dirt. In the end of the corridor were two large gated metal doors, looking electronic but still old, like something from the early 1900s. A few steps closer and he figured out that it was a large elevator.

'_All this way, and there's still an area below this…_' he thought, grasping onto the very tiny line of empty space between the two doors and pulling them open with his fingers. Once he successfully did that, he accessed the elevator and stepped in. There were no buttons to indicate what floor he was on or what floor he could go to. Instead, right when he entered, the doors sealed closed behind him and the lift began to descend, sliding down a very very long shaft to its only and final destination.

Three long minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, a new defoliated area presented itself to the ashen fox from behind the gated doors. Seconds after it came into view, the lift stopped. It had reached the bottom floor. Grating slid out of its carrier's vision, fully showing the small clearing that looked pretty similar to the one he'd entered the elevator in a thousand feet above.

'_Here I go…_' Taking in another deep breath—which seemed to get harder and harder as he progressed on, since the air became thinner and thinner the deeper he went—Miles grasped the handgun in his right palm tightly and walked to the double doors on the opposite end of the room. They were extremely heavy and hard to open, but he managed to get through. The passageway on the other side brought hopelessness flying back into his tornado of emotions.

Stonewalls replaced the cement walls of above, looking even darker and more intimidating than in any other location he'd been in so far. The passage led both directions, to his left and to his right, and from what he could see from here they also led left and right at the end of them too. An eerie thought came up in his mind, but he pushed it aside right away, just hoping for the best.

His body almost felt some sort of mental weight on his right arm, telling him to go right, but something about that he didn't like. Right seemed too confident of a direction to go in, but left felt more…he couldn't quite place it. He didn't know how to explain it, and wasn't sure if it was a real serious thought or just childish imaginings, but something told him to go left. So, he went down the left side, stopping where it ended and branched off in two directions like he thought it did. Taking a chance, he turned left again and walked down that end of the corridor, stopping at the turn and looking to see the path end with a wall.

'_…goddamnit_.' Just what he feared: he was in a labyrinth.

When he was a young pup he'd gotten lost in one of those ridiculously large hedge mazes. It was right outside the foster home he'd lived in, and many of the older kids enjoyed running around that maze of green. One day he was tired of seeing them act all egotistic about how cool they were for making it through the maze, and he tried entering it himself. Two and a half hours later, one of the grown-ups had found him sitting in a corner crying like a baby for being lost. It wasn't a pretty site, and the jokes and pranks pulled on him at that place since didn't make it any better.

That maze's layout seemed very trivial in the present day. Now he was a full-grown adult, and stuck a mile or two underground in an extremely dark stone labyrinth that's probably infested with scary monsters, not to mention he had no idea how big the whole place was. Yeah, the hedge maze before was just 'training'.

'_Wait a minute…_'

He pulled out the Toluca Prison map, which he had not yet discarded like the apartment map and hospital map. He doubted he'd need to go back there—doubted he _could _go back there—but the piece of paper might be useful. He reached into his carrying bag and dug around, brushing his hands through the various ammo and other things he'd collected on the journey, until his fingers found the red marker. He pulled the marker out and turned the Toluca Prison map around, drawing at the bottom a long thin rectangle and connecting the left end of it to another one. If he drew out a rough map of the labyrinth and kept track of where he was going, maybe he wouldn't be as likely to get hopelessly lost.

And so, Miles's trek through the labyrinth began.

---_Later…_---

Ten minutes had passed by too slowly for his pleasure, and he still didn't know where the hell he was going. Some of the corridors spiraled around themselves till they reached a dead end. Some spiraled around themselves and had an exit to another corridor in the process. Some just made a right or left turn into a dead end. And some branched off into corridors that branched off into corridors that all had dead ends in them. It was insane, and the two-tailed fox was already sick and tired of it.

The corridor he stood in now was shaped like a T; its dark walls branched off in two different directions at the end. Miles had no idea which way to go, but from the looks of it on his map this corridor was at least farther away from the others, possibly meaning it might be the right direction. If it was or wasn't, he'd find out soon enough.

His still damp shoes clopped against the concrete floor, stepping onto grounds that were invisible to his eyes a moment earlier. Stopping, he pulled out the map to check on it again, but his footsteps didn't seem to stop with him. In fact, they seemed to go on a half a second longer after he ceased to move his legs. Their echo came from around the right end of the T, and Miles quickly pulled the handgun back out of his side pack and pointed it down the hall cautiously.

Silence.

He took a step forward, then another, and then stopped. He heard that extra footstep again.

'_Someone's in here…_'

Handgun being held parallel to his orange and white furred head, Miles slowly took a step—a step which was as stealthy as he could make it—closer to the corner, now only a few feet away from the turn. That silent step was not followed by an extra one, which made him feel unsure of his theory of who or what might be just around the corner.

And then, he ducked, just barely missing the gigantic rusty knife as it was swung from around the corner and embedded itself into the stonewalls, sending chunks of rock flying everywhere. Less than a second later, Miles was diving through the air, moving quickly enough to evade as Pyramid Head dragged the metal knife down to the floor the fox was crouched on a moment earlier, swung it across the ground, and dragged it up and back to the wall in an extremely fast circular motion.

The walls seemed to almost scream in agony as they shared a taste of the pain Miles would have felt if he hadn't avoided the attack, and would feel soon if he didn't get away fast. Pyramid Head's hulking body spun around, about to try and swing the knife at the fox again. But it was as if its arm finally gave in to the weight again for the time being—probably because it had lost its momentum—and the heavy weapon dropped to the floor, causing the monster to grab for it with its other hand and try to lift it back up again.

Miles got up quickly, and was about to run down the left hall until he thought about the fact that the monster had come down the right hall, meaning there must be an exit or something that way. Breaking into a sprint, Miles ran down the corridor—hearing the swing of the great knife behind him miss his flesh by probably only a foot or two.

For a moment, Miles thought he was fucked either way, because he remembered how fast Pyramid Head could actually run – the monster had far passed proved itself in the hospital corridor. Terrified, Miles looked behind him and was surprised to see that it wasn't charging after him. Instead, it limped towards him, dragging the heavy blade behind like an overweighed anchor. Maybe it was too tired or something to run now—

'—_but it's still _moving _and as long as it is, you're not safe._' His mind stated. '_Get the _fuck _out of here!_'

There was a left turn at the end of the corridor, which Miles took and continued to run for his life until he reached another T shaped hall. The sound of Pyramid Head's giant knife dragging across the floor not too far could still be heard, and Miles knew if he ran into a dead end he'd be screwed. And with his luck in the labyrinth so far, his near future seemed pretty bleak.

'_Not that it doesn't seem bleak in the first place._' He thought pessimistically, right before he began to sprint down the right hall, hoping for the best. His luck seemed to drain pretty quickly; because two short turns later he reached a dead end. '_Shit!_'

That insane scraping of metal against concrete was heard, and he backtracked as fast as he could, hoping Pyramid Head hadn't gotten to the fork yet. He knew he'd never be able to get past the monster in one piece. Luckily, that great knife Pyramid Head had proved to be its downfall at that moment, because it still hadn't reached the end of the T yet. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, Miles zoomed past the T—seeing the loathsome but formidable monster only a few yards away in the process—and ran down the left passage.

Left, left, right, left, and he was at a four-way intersection. He continued running forward down it, hearing the sounds of Pyramid Head's knife fading away as he got farther and farther from the monster. At the end of the long stretch of a passage way was a steel door, which the fox quickly ran through and slammed behind him.

"Phew…" he put his hand to on his rapidly pounding chest and tried to catch his breath. He had been really lucky – if he'd taken another wrong turn somewhere along the way he was as good as dead. Pyramid Head was still relatively close by, but the steel door being between him and it made it seem much farther, which he didn't mind at all. Hopefully the metal helmeted monster didn't know the layout of this maze very well either.

Just because he had escaped that monster though did not mean he was completely safe – a mannequin and a straightjacket monster were within the passage, already stumbling through the shadows towards him. Seven handgun bullets later, they were both no more.

Miles continued aimlessly wandering around the creepy old place, either running into a dead end or going around circles the entire time.

'_I wonder who made this place…_' he thought. '_And more importantly: why? It's not like there'd be any use for it…_'

Static burst from the radio, and Miles whirred around to see a straightjacket coming from around a corner behind him. Lowering his handgun, he turned and began to jog farther down the hall. He didn't have time or ammo to waste bullets on something he could easily run from.

The passage he was in right now ended at a wall, but there was a right turn near the end, which he took and stopped at. Putting his back to the wall, he pulled the labyrinth map out again and drew what the area he was in looked like, drawing a dotted line through the middle of it to signify he'd been that way already. Even though he drew the passages as thin lines, the left side of the paper was beginning to get too full, and he hoped there weren't many more left turns or he might not be able to draw the whole map as one piece anymore.

To his fortune, there were no more left turns in this part of the labyrinth. Instead, at the dead end in this corridor, there was a small trap door. The handle was still in once piece unlike the one in the prison, so he had no trouble opening it and shining the light into the room below.

Water covered the floor of the passage below, about ankle-deep. Miles let out a frustrated groan and climbed down the ladder. His sneakers were finally beginning to dry too, now only slightly damp. Their effort to become dry again had failed as the tired fox dipped his aching feet into the cold water, letting go of the ladder and scanning the place.

He couldn't see very far into the corridor – somehow it was even darker than the area above—but as far as he could see there were no doors or anything. He sloshed through the liquid, feeling the ice-cold water sting his legs and feet as they seeped through his sneakers. Being a fox, his canine fur didn't seem to fare too well in the liquid, starting to become unpleasantly smelly. That was the least of his worries at the moment though, because the sound of something else stepping through the water could be heard.

His large bright orange-yellow ears perked up, and he put his back to the left wall right away, slowly moving towards where the sound was coming from. He was trying to be stealthy, but was failing miserably – his feet moving across the water made a noise past loud enough for whomever else was in the room to hear.

The radio wasn't going off. So that meant it must be either Eggman or…Pyramid Head again. But it couldn't be the later; he'd already passed Pyramid Head not too long ago…

Or so he thought.

Pyramid Head came around the corner, its black boots traveling across the ankle-deep sea, moving closer to Miles Prower's flashlight. If it couldn't see him or hear him yet, the bright light made it obvious enough he was there.

'_No! That doesn't make any sense, how could he have gotten here before me!?_'

Possibly there really was another entrance into the room, and if there was then his theory that Pyramid Head might know the place well was true. The monster pulled the knife it was dragging behind it up into the air, the tip of the five-foot blade almost about to hit the fox if it was much closer. Breathing rapidly again on instinct, Miles turned and tried to run, but before he even got more than three feet he tripped and fell on his face, completely drenching himself in the dark water. Sticking his head out at lightning speed, he began to crawl away, panicked and trying to get back to his feet before Pyramid Head brought the sharp weapon down on his body. He moved just in time; the tip of the blade dug into the water only a foot behind him before he was able to break into a splashing almost uncontrollable run. He almost tripped again, but used his right hand to level himself.

Although he was practically tripping over himself, Miles was still moving faster than the monster trailing behind him. Pyramid Head disappeared around the corner quickly enough as Miles turned at the curve, his fur matted and sticking together as he splashed through the place. If he can't hide from it, he could at least run. He was proven wrong in that idea soon enough when he turned another curve and stopped, his eyes widening in terror.

Pyramid Head was right in front of him now, its wet and dirty gray cloth clinging to it's human-like body.

'_How'd he—_' Miles figured it out right away, once he rethought the way he'd just ran through the place. It seemed that the corridor he was in was shaped like an octagon, circling around and around the room in the middle forever. All Pyramid Head had to do to catch up to him was turn around and walk a few yards.

While he was thinking this, he didn't even notice his antagonist was only a few yards away already. That realization hit him just in time too, and he did a complete turn and began running again, kicking up water everywhere along the way. When he got back to the turn he just went around, he stopped and remembered something.

'_—the hunting rifle!_'

Pyramid Head seemed almost immune to handgun bullets, as it had proved much earlier on way back in the apartments, but Miles doubted the beast was so strong it could withstand shots from the powerful rifle. He'd almost forgotten he grabbed it back in the prison, and it was still strapped around his back next to the empty shotgun. He grasped onto it and pulled it into his arms, shouldering it and taking aim. Pyramid Head stood only a few feet away, not even seeming to react to the fact that it had a gun being aimed at it, so it was nearly impossible to miss.

"This is for Shadow, you fucking bastard!!" he screamed. Clenching his eyes shut, Miles squeezed the trigger.

What followed was a parade of noises.

The rifle made an amazingly loud sound, surpassing the roar of even the shotgun. The recoil sent that familiar feeling jolting through the fox's arm, causing him to grunt out in slight pain. The rifles shell zoomed across the distance between the fox and the monster in less than a millisecond, immediately diving itself into Pyramid Head's rusty red helmet in a suicidal fashion. Instead of piercing the metal though, the shell bounced off its surface like a pinball, ricocheting into the left wall and bouncing back off of it into the right. Insanely the freed shell flew left and right again, constantly bouncing off the walls until it shot up into the walling above—almost touching the ceiling—and bounced back off of that into the in the water on the floor, creating a small but loud splash.

The shell's mad journey could not be seen by Miles's naked eye, but the sounds and remains of what was there could. Pyramid Head stepped back a bit in reaction to the shell hitting it's isosceles-shaped triangle helmet, only to shake it's head like it had a slight headache and continue moving forward.

'_Jesus Christ, how strong is that thing!?_' he wondered, his eyes slightly tweaking out from the shock of what had just happened. Before the monster could take another step forward he aimed the rifle again and fired.

Doing this was not the brightest idea, for all it did was waste the shell and almost get him killed. The shell had the same effect as last time, except now it shot past him—missing him by mere inches—and embedded itself in the stonewall before it stopped ricocheting.

'_Shiiit…okay, don't do that again._' he told himself, feeling stupid for even thinking that it would work if he tried a second time.

Pyramid Head still came closer, dangerously close now. The fox took a step back, feeling almost scared stiff as the monster began to pick up its giant knife again. Before it could fully pick the weapon up though, Miles aimed down a bit at its unshielded leg and fired. The effect it gave off was better than the one he'd gotten for shooting it in the head, but not by much. Pyramid Head only seemed to be stalled for a second, shrugging the bullet off like it was just an annoying itch. A little blood squirted out of the flesh and into the water, but only a little.

Miles got the picture and turned around again, running back the direction he came in. He only circled around the room again till he was only a few yards behind where Pyramid Head had run into him a minute ago.

He heard the monster slowly walking back around the corner not too far in front of him, guessing it was in no hurry because unless he managed to climb back up that ladder—which was now already behind him—in time, he was as good as dead.

But it seemed someone was watching over him, even all the way down underground, that moment. Miles spotted two double doors on the inner perimeter of the room, which he guessed must have been how Pyramid Head entered it in the first place. A few short steps led up to it, probably so it wouldn't be flooded when the doors opened. He grasped onto the handles of the doors, praying they wouldn't be locked or something, and was relieved that they actually did open. Running into the room, he slammed the doors behind him and put his back to it.

'_Only a minute or two before it figures out I'm in here._' he thought. Finally, he looked up and let out a small shriek of disgusted horror.

No wonder Pyramid Head knew the way around – it must have _lived _here. The small room was coated in layers of blood, consisting of nothing but a very stained bed, a few tables, and eight or nine cages hanging on the ceiling that were similar to the ones in the painting. Within six of them were mutilated bodies, two of which were dead mannequins, and a third of which was a lacerated straightjacket monster, while the other three looked like the body of a human and two furries. There was also a light overhead; tinted dark red and making the whole room look even bloodier than it actually was.

'_Oh god…_' he thought, covering his mouth. If his stomach wasn't empty, he just might have vomited again. '_Is this its bedroom…?_'

On the far wall were a few other cages too—well, he wasn't really sure if they could fully be considered cages. While they had a perimeter like a cage, there was no metal barring covering it, probably because whoever was within it would be dead by the time they were stored there. Miles didn't know why the monster had interests in keeping mutilated bodies in its room, and he didn't want to know any more about the matter than he had to.

He didn't have to stay there long, thankfully. The flooring in the middle of the room was made of metal grating, but rather than having a bottomless pit underneath them there was what looked like another corridor for the labyrinth. In the middle of the metal grating was a gated trapdoor, which had a ladder underneath it.

'_I gotta get out of here…_'

But it didn't look like he would be anytime soon.

Running up the gated trap door, Miles pulled it open and began to climb the ladder down even deeper into the labyrinth.


	21. Fact or Fantasy?

**Sonic Hill 2: DX**

**Chapter 21: Fact or Fantasy?**

------

It took almost an hour, but Miles finally reached what seemed to be the end of the labyrinth. At least, he hoped it was. At a final dead end, he had taken a ladder up one floor, walked down another annoying long corridor, and entered a medium-sized circular stone room. He was wet, he stunk, he ached, and he felt miserable, but at least he had all that over with.

He wondered if it was all worth it.

There was no other door in the circular stone room, in fact there was absolutely nothing at all, except for a strange pedestal in the middle of the place holding up a rather large blue-ish gray cube. On all six sides of the cube, a face was carved in, each with a different emotion. Happy, sad, angry, apathetic, content, and hopeless. Knowing how the town seemed to work so far, he guessed it was another puzzle.

He had no idea how it would work, so he just tried trial and error. The block could be moved around so certain faces look in certain directions, but there was no indication of which way they had to go. So, the confused fox just randomly moved the block so the mad face, which was originally looking forward, looked up at the ceiling. Nothing about the blocks changed, but everything else in the room did. The wall actually began to _move_, so the doorway behind him moved a few feet to the left. It stopped, revealing nothing but a second wall behind it in the doorway.

It didn't take long for Miles to figure it out. He'd seen a puzzle like this in an old video game once. There must be another door behind the wall somewhere in the room, and he'd need to revolve the walls so the doorway ends up on it. Randomly he moved the block around until he saw that he was correct – a corridor revealed itself in front of him once he revolved it enough so that the doorway was now in front of him instead of behind him.

He walked up to the now open doorway and noticed that it actually wasn't a corridor – it was a staircase. It led down about ten feet, and into a short corridor that led to another steel door. Walking down the steps and up to the door, he cautiously opened it, revealing a well-lit room on the other side.

Once he entered the room, his jaw dropped and a gasp escaped his lips when he saw who was within it.

The square room was rather small, and most of it was inaccessible from where he stood – there were steel bars in the middle of it, dividing it in two and making the other half look like some sort of prison cell. In the back of the cell was a small white-sheeted bed, which rested on the right side of another steel door. But that wasn't at all what his attention was focused on. In the cell, sitting in a chair facing him as if expecting him to enter, was the one guy he'd never expected to see ever again in his entire life.

"Shadow!?"

The unforgettably familiar black hedgehog sat in a small fold up chair behind the jail cell bars, a warm benign smile on his lips.

"Hello Tails." Shadow said calmly, his deep baritone voice confirming that Miles wasn't just seeing things. He didn't have a fur out of place; in fact his flawless black red and white colored body seemed to almost shine in the light overhead.

"Y-you're alive!" the fox shouted incredulously, too amazed to see his deceased friend before his eyes again to even notice what Shadow called him. He rubbed his eyes, almost expecting the hedgehog to fade into nothingness and disappear once he did. But his comrade didn't - he was really there.

Lifting an eyebrow, Shadow asked, "What are you talking about?"

"T-that thing!" Miles exclaimed. "It…you…y-you don't even have a single scratch on you!"

"Of course silly." The hedgehog stated, as if it were obvious. He looked like he was trying not to laugh at the fox's confusion.

Taking his azure-blue eyes off of the hedgehog for only a moment, Miles spotted another fold out chair on his side of the room, lying against the wall. Grabbing it, he ran up to the bars and sat down on the chair only a few feet away from the hedgehog. "I don't understand…t-that monster was…there was blood everywhere…I…I saw it with my own eyes…how…?"

From across the iron bars, Shadow's crimson eyes held a look of sympathetic concern.

"Tails honey, did something happen to you?" he asked in a questionable but soothing tone that had reminded Miles of the way Sonic talked when he was worried. "After we got separated in that long hallway?" He paused thoughtfully, and then asked: "…are you confusing me for someone else?"

Miles still couldn't believe it. He opened his mouth to say something, but he had already forgotten what it was, and wouldn't know how to say it even if he'd remembered. Instead, the black hedgehog before him chuckled a little and shook his head, speaking once more.

"Heh…you were _always _so forgetful…" Shadow said, that benign smile forming on his lips again. "Like remember that time in the hotel?"

"Shadow…"

"You said you took everything, but you forgot that videotape we made." The hedgehog looked up at the ceiling, seeming to talk more to himself now. "Hmm…I wonder if it's still there…"

The two-tailed fox was more confused than ever. Only he and Sonic had known about that videotape. They had left it in the Lakeview Hotel, but didn't remember that until after they got home. It was a bummer, really, being denied the ability to rewatch and enjoy their wonderful experiences and memories in Sonic Hill over and over again.

"How could you know _that_?" Miles questioned, flabbergasted. "Only…only Sonic and I know about that…" Looking down at the floor, Miles bit his lip and wondered what was really going on. After a few seconds, an insane question came to his mind, and his eyes focused once more on the hedgehog. "…you _are_ Shadow…aren't you?"

"I'm not your Sonic." Shadow stated.

"So…you're Shadow?"

"I am, if you want me to be."

The mysterious dark hedgehog seemed to be asking and creating more questions than answers. Not to mention he was acting extremely weird and unlike himself. Slightly frustrated and even more confused, Miles stood up and stated as sternly as he could, "All I want from you is an answer."

"It doesn't matter _who_ I am." Shadow said, standing up too. He took a step forward, shortening the space between him and the blue-eyed kitsune. "I'm here for you now, Tails." Reaching through the bars, he wrapped his arms around the fox's ribs and pulled him close; their furry chests pressed together through the bars. Raising his left gloved hand, Shadow placed it on the young foxes face. "See? Feel; I'm _real_."

"But…"

Miles put his own hand on Shadow's, feeling the other furry's solid warm fingers through the glove. Indeed, he was very real.

"Don't you want to touch me?" the taller male asked, his voice tangled in sexuality. "We can't do _anything _from behind these bars…"

"I…" Miles tried his best not to stutter, or ramble, or just plain make an idiot out of himself. Never before was he so baffled to see someone like he was now. Not only that, but it felt as if the hedgehog had pumped twelve tons of helium into his head. It was too much, it was too _weird_, for his mind to fully register in less than a minute. "I…dunno…"

Shadow let go of Miles, reached up, and brushed the three independent locks of hair covering the fox's eyes out of his face. In a beautifully fluid motion, he glanced at the door in the back of his cell for a second, crimson orbs unchanging. "Come and get me."

"…okay." Miles nodded. From the looks of it, the door must be locked from this side since Shadow didn't seem to intend to leave. He could ask questions later—and he sure had plenty to ask—but for now it was more important he make sure the hedgehog was safe. He could rescue him again. It was like getting a second chance…

"I'll be back, I'm going to get you out of here." Miles said, slowly moving towards the door and stopping at it. Before leaving, he turned and stared back to the mysterious hedgehog, as if to confirm the fact that he was there for the third time.

Shadow stepped backwards till his legs touched the cell's bed, where he laid his thin body down and looked at the fox with a mischievous grin on his face. "I'll be waiting."

Taking one last glance at Shadow before exiting, Miles turned and left the room.


	22. Abstract Daddy

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 22: Abstract Daddy

------

-BANG!

Like sparks off of a blacksmith's anvil, particles of the straightjacket monster's now shattered skull were flung into air, each landing in the water behind it with a series of little 'plop's. How many of them had he killed so far? Miles hadn't a clue, but it sure was a lot more than his mind was willing to contemplate. Would it really be considered _killing_ anyway? They didn't seem alive at all, almost like zombies…and the mannequins didn't even bleed. Not to mention they all seemed hell-bent on killing him and anything else they see – even occasionally each other. They couldn't possibly be considered living beings…

He shook his head for another countless time, trying not to think too much into it. He needed to survive, and even if they were considered living things, they were trying to kill him. It was self-defense.

At this point he was very glad he'd drawn out the map of the west end of the labyrinth, for it was being put to good use now that he had to backtrack all the way through it. Most of the corridors on the west side seemed to lead to a dead end, so he had headed back to the labyrinths entrance and tried the right corridor this time. He clung desperately to his hopes that one of the doors would lead to the other end of Shadow's cell, since the cell was the most northern part of the west side. He wasn't even sure if it was truly north or west, but it didn't matter if he was correct – as long as he had some sense of direction he'd be okay.

Trekking all the way back to the entrance was relatively easy. Pyramid Head was nowhere to be found (which was both a good and a bad thing, he knew…), and he already killed most of the monsters roaming the places he'd been to beforehand. The east side of the underground labyrinth proved to be basically the same as the west, except there seemed to be a larger population of monsters roaming around. Right now he only had a total of twenty-two handgun bullets left. Using the shotgun like a club had worked pretty well on the straight jackets, but the mannequins were too deadly to battle it with a melee weapon – their long legs had beaten the shit out of him earlier and he didn't want to go through that again. And even against the straight jackets it could sometimes be dangerous, which was why he occasionally used up a handgun bullet to blow out their relatively simple brains.

Right now he stood again in icy ankle deep waters, frowning at his own discomfort. The ladder he'd recently passed lead down into this section of the place, which seemed eerily similar but thankfully not the octagonal water corridor he'd encountered his helmet-wearing antagonist in earlier. It was basically the same as the corridors above, except now twice as unpleasant to walk around in.

Though there weren't as many monsters roaming the passage, he was still very afraid of running into Pyramid Head again. Good news was that if there was something moving nearby, he could hear its footsteps across the water before even the radio picked it up. It was nice to be that much more aware of something in this barely visible place. The water weighed down his drenched sneakers, along with the rest of his drying furry body, so he had to put a little more effort into moving around.

'_Well, at least I'm getting good exercise._' Optimistically, his mind had picked apart that idea for a short period of time. The mood it had lit dimmed pretty quickly.

Thirteen more minutes of sloshing through the barren and dark corridors of the labyrinth, and Miles's haggard face stared upon another ladder. All this floor switching was really annoying him, but at least he didn't have to jump down any holes like earlier. Water sloshed back through the fox's fur as he grasped onto the bars and began to clumsily climb the piece of steel.

-_Clink…_

-_Clink…_

-_Clink…_

-_Clink…_

The brownish gray trapdoor took a little effort to budge, but after a few shoves it opened up. Nothing but blackness awaited him above. While the ocean of dark in the room was powerful enough to conceal everything from the naked eye, its wall of black was easily cut apart by the bright light protruding from the fox's white-furred chest. Not surprisingly, he was in another dark hall. What a surprise. This one was like two L-shaped halls sticking together at the base; it went about ten yards forward, turned for a yard or two, and then continued on into the end of the corridor – where a door stood tall. On the right wall in the section of the passage Miles was in was a door also, and there was a third door on the other half of the left wall. In other words the hall resembled the shape of a crank.

If he skipped the doors, he knew he'd probably regret it later, so Miles moved to the right wall door immediately. Entering the room, he felt that lump hit his stomach again as he saw a rather disturbing scene laid out before him.

Six limp bodies—a blend of both humans and furries—were suspended in the air, a thin rope wrapped around their necks. Their shoes hung a few feet above the dust-sheeted floor, all aligned with one another perfectly. As if to spare him of a piece of the obscenity, gray bags concealed the grim face of each corpse. But just seeing the silhouettes there, all lined up in two rows of three, seriously gave him the creeps.

Fear wasn't an uncommon emotion to him anymore, and he knew that he'd have to be as brave as he could be (which was difficult – especially when thoughts of Pyramid Head arose). He'd seen things worse than that so far, and if he had given in in the past he would probably be dead by now. Letting the light guide him through the shadowy room, Miles examined the place. Other than the hung corpses, the room was completely empty. He couldn't help but glance at the nearest corpse again, and saw something he hadn't really paid attention to a second earlier.

Written on every bag covering the corpse's face was one word, each probably describing the reason that respective man had been hung. The one nearest to him had the word 'Rapist' marked on him. To the body on Miles's right, the word 'Arsonist' was labeled. Beside that one: 'Burglar'. The fox stepped back a bit, passing by the three corpses in the front of the room and reading what their crime had been.

'Murderer'

'Kidnapper'

'Counterfeiter'

This room seemed to belong more up in the prison than all the way down in the back of the labyrinth. And even if it was back up at the prison, wouldn't someone have removed their bodies and put them back in the…

Miles shuddered, thinking of when he'd gone through the morgue earlier. Not pretty. Nothing down here was pretty, that's for sure. Considering the place apparently hasn't been visited in a long time, the bodies sure didn't seem to suffer from any signs of rot. Touching them to check if they were still warm, possibly meaning they died not too long ago, seemed like a horrible idea that the fox didn't even want to consider.

Too spooky for him – Miles left the room quickly, reentering the crank-shaped hallway. Forward, right, forward again, and he was standing beside the left wall door, looking at the corridor's third exit ahead. Sticking to the same strategy as usual, Miles checked the door beside him first.

This room was identical to the hanging corpse room, except here the six intimidating nooses hanging down from the ceiling held no bodies within their deadly grasp. It was like taking a look into the past of the other room, before the criminals faced their punishment. Not that being hung was even a fair punishment in America nowadays anyway…Miles again found himself wondering how old this place really was.

A slab of stone had writing carved into it on the back wall, which the soggy two-tailed fox examined once he spotted it.

'**_Please Someone Save Me _**

He committed an evil crime. He turned a happy home into a pile of ash. For that, he should die. He also committed crimes. He tried to fraud and trick others. So their reward too is natural. Even he cannot be forgiven, my thieving friend. And so his death bothers me not. And what of him? He also is not sinless. There is only one here who is innocent. The missing child was nowhere to be found, and so there was no proof of his guilt. His death was a tragedy. That is all I wish to say. It was neither justice nor retribution.'

Another uncanny macabre message. Whoever wrote it didn't matter – it seemed to go hand in hand with the criminals' corpses in the other room.

'_I guess one of those dead guys in the other room was innocent…_' Stories about people liked that depressed him very much. The thought of someone being killed by authority for something someone else did…it was a disturbing thing to think about. Even today cases like that probably happened, and it wasn't a pleasant fact to know.

Which one was innocent though? A very short period of time ticked by before the young furry figured it out. Most of the other ones he had seen were cancelled out by the message. If 'the child' was nowhere to be found and that proved his innocence, it must mean the innocent one was the kidnapper. It couldn't be anyone else…

'_Alright. You know who it is. Now what?_'

He placed his palm on his chin and squeezing a very small amount of ideas from his brain like a somewhat dirty sponge. The only reasonable (as reasonable as a puzzle here could be) explanation was that maybe there was a key in the pocket of the kidnapper. Either that, or…

Miles glanced at the noose equivalent to the one the kidnapper was hung on in the other room: the center one closest to the door. Maybe if he pulled it like a bell…

Crossing over the room to the noose, the increasingly imaginative fox grabbed onto the rope and pulled. It only pulled down about a foot before something holding it on the ceiling above stopped it from moving any farther.

…

Nothing seemed to happen.

'_Damnit…_' Maybe he didn't have the cryptic enigma figured out after all. Or possibly he had just gotten the wrong noose or something. Best to recheck the other room to make sure. Relatively soon, he was back in the other hangman room, looking for the kidnapper's body.

But it wasn't there. Where its corpse had been before—front row center like he'd thought—was an eerily empty space, like it had disappeared in a ghostly manner. On the floor below the rope was a shiny glint of metal. Examining it, Miles realized it was a key. In tiny letters the words 'Key of the Persecuted' were written on its tag grayed.

It was another freaky experience, but it wasn't all for naught. If Miles had just passed by the puzzle and went through the corridor's exit, he'd probably need to backtrack here and try finding the key anyway. He wasn't sure exactly what it was for, but it was a lot smaller than most of the keys he'd found so far. Still, a key was a key, and if there were a key there would be a door.

Perhaps he had set the prisoner's spirit free? Miles knew not, but it was a nice idea, better than imagining it unhung itself and walked away, at least.

A few twisting and turning, but not confusingly maze-like corridors later, Miles finally reached an impassable doorway. It only seemed that way at first glance. Metal bars stuck to the ceiling and almost reached the floor, but he would be able to open the gate pretty easily if it wasn't for the pair of handcuffs wrapped around the handle and one of the bars, holding it closed. Try as he might, they wouldn't budge.

'_I'm not coming all this way just to be stopped by a fucking strip of metal._' Standing there, he began to consider his options.

Only one convenient one arose, and he hoped it would work. Reaching into his side-pack, he pulled out the Key of the Persecuted and slid it into the tiny slot on the side of the handcuffs. To his luck, they fit in perfectly. He turned it and felt the reassuring click of the handcuffs unlocking. He picked the handcuff around the edge of the gated door off and let it swing against the wall as he pushed the gate open and entered the next corridor.

An old wooden door was at the end of this corridor, which he took. The interior of the room it led into was very strange, because it looked somewhat familiar. The broken stump of what was once a statue in the room was in the far corner, and there were a few shattered glass cases too. It looked like an exhibit room that belongs all the way back up in the museum in South Vale, which felt like it was light-years away now. Why it was down here was beyond him, but it wasn't too unlike the criminal's hanging room a few minutes ago with its unorthodox placement.

On the floor, stained in dark crimson, was a folded up newspaper. Soaked in blood, it didn't look like a very pleasant thing to read or touch, but Miles was interested in what it had to say—if anything at all. Maybe it had something useful. Kneeling down, he shined his light and tried to read the barely legible ink covered in blood.

'**--- -- --11 **

**----- --re ----- --- this morning at an unknown time. The house recently owned b- --- --- family, - ----- -amily of four, --s severely burned in the outb----. --- ---- ------- -- --- ------ ------- -- -- --known force. M-tches ha-e ---- ----d -- --- -iving room, spread out across the -----. Police suspect ar--n**'

About two paragraphs of writing were completely illegible, their ink already diminished. But there was a little more information below it.

'**Also the body of a male, ----r identify--- -s --rl --- -a-- 39) --- ---covered in the children's -----om lying ---- -own. Th- ---bable ca--- -f death ----as 18 stab wounds -- --- -r--- -- -he neck --d t-- -eft sid- -- --e torso -- - ----- ----- ------- The estima--d t-me -- -eath --- ------n 11:00 p.m. and 12:30 midnight. --- -- ---ns of s---g--- -- -he ---m --d the lack of a murder weapon, ------ --- ----------- ---- a hom-c--e and --ve -pe---d a murder in-------tion. F--------r-, g---n the fa-t ---- --- cash in the room was untouched and Mr. Bat had a history of drunkenness and violence, the police -----ect that the objective was not robbery --- - crime o- ----ion.**'

Miles stood back up – it seemed to just be another of the many disturbing stories he's been learning since he came here. While the newspaper had little significance to him, it did manage to make him feel even more uneasy. Like the bodies, the blood seeping through the thick paper was still wet, meaning it must be new…

Maybe it was best just to try and keep his cool and keep moving. Miles really just wanted to find Shadow and get the fuck out of there, if there was an exit at all. On the left wall was another wooden door. Being the only exit out of the room besides the one he used to enter, he decided to check out what lie behind it. Opening the door, he walked into yet another long dark corridor. His squishy wet shoes clopped against the cement floor, echoing down the dark hall and back into his large ears.

Looking up at the ceiling, he finally let that barricade in his mind break and began to think more about what the hell was going on. It was like trying to drink the whole fuckin' ocean. So many inconsistencies, unanswered questions, and scary situations reared themselves through his overwhelmed mind. By now, this place should have gone far below the sea level – the stairs should have led right into the lake since they moved north for ages while still descending. Not only that, but it must have taken an extremely long time to build all this so far down underground, especially if it's underneath the lake.

And Shadow…

Shadow still being alive was the most confusing of all. Even more so than his confusion of Sonic's cryptic letter. That short conversation with the black hedgehog earlier was real solid proof before his eyes that he wasn't just delusional. Shadow was waiting for him…just like Sonic…

But he'd seen him die before his very eyes…not only that, but Shadow had been acting so _weird_ before. Somehow he knew about that videotape, not to mention that name…

It was strange being called that name again, especially by someone like that mysterious hedgehog. Miles Prower was just a hollow empty shell of what Tails used to be, left behind after the happy and free soul died away three years ago. Sonic had given him that cute nickname because of his birth deformation – his two now slick and wet tails that clung to the back of his legs. While many people had put him through so much torment and pain for having something no one else had, that blue hedgehog had thought it was 'way past cool'. It was cheesy, but he knew Sonic had always brightened up his world since they met in senior year at high school ages ago. Just thinking of the hedgehog brought him a warm happiness back then, but now it just enveloped him in a lonely layer of cold. Words couldn't describe how much he missed hi—

"—_NOOOO, DADDY! PLEASE DON'T!!!_"

An abrupt, female scream shattered the silence of the corridor, along with Miles's reverie. His heart jumped with surprise at it. In reaction, he looked up and down the corridor rapidly, trying to figure out where it came from, and who it was. The scream…it sounded really familiar. It sounded almost like—

'_—Rouge!_'

Not too far in front of him, on the right wall, was a strange white door completely covered in thick newspapers. The cry had definitely come from there, and whatever it was for, it didn't sound pleasant. Miles broke into a sprint; quickly reaching the door and yanking it open.

"_Nooo!!!_" Rouge screamed in pure terror, her face coated with tears. She fell to the floor and backed away into the wall behind her, shaking violently and letting out cries of fear.

Time seemed to almost freeze as the scene slowly played itself out in front of the young fox.

The room was small, very small. And like the door, the walls were covered with countless newspapers, similarly to those paper machete projects he did years ago. In the corner, next to where Rouge was curled up and weeping, was a broken TV set on a little desk, showing nothing but static on its cold blank screen. Strange large holes lined the walls, each of which had big metallic pistons moving in and out of them slow and awkwardly. That only added to the intensity. The terrified bat covered her face and let out another mixed cry of extreme fear and devastation at what stood before her.

The monster's body was something Miles's mind couldn't even fully accept with one glance, for it was too obscene and grotesque for him to even imagine in his most horrible nightmares. He had to stare at it for a few moments before he could even identify what the mound of flesh had looked like, and when he did, it wasn't pretty.

It was very large, taking up a quarter of the room on it's own. Standing on all fours, the monster resembled that of two people, a female below and a male on top, brutally fucking in a king-sized bed. But it was like someone had covered them in gasoline and threw a match on their bodies, just like with the hospital demons. Their slick flesh was melded together, but in a much more grotesque way than any of the monster he'd seen before now. Their constantly thrusting bodies were not only melded to each other, but also the mattress itself. And it was like doing that given the fleshy looking mattress a soul too, for it too moved and shook, its wood-like legs traveling slowly across the floor to the screaming young batgirl in the corner.

'_Holy…_' Miles's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets; still having a hard time accepting that that thing was really standing right in front of him.

The mattress monster seemed to hear his very thoughts and turned to him, letting out a gurgled and mixed male and female roar from its two pounding bodies. While it had no visible eyes, it seemed to see him easy enough.

'_Shit!_' the fox cried, immediately reaching behind him to grab the only weapon that he felt had a chance of stopping the grotesque beast – the hunting rifle. He managed to slide it away from his back and into his arms right before the beast rammed into him and sent him flying into the paper-padded wall.

The ever-diminishing pain in his back screamed with life again, making the fox let out a small hurt-filled yelp. Opening his eyes, he saw the mattress monster moving towards him, its hulking body only a few feet away. Before it could reach him, he aimed the rifle up and squeezed the trigger.

-**_BANG!!!_**

The thing let out another an angered scream as the shell entered its flesh, spilling many of its black insides all over the floor and walls. Rouge, still covering her face and curled up in the corner, let out another cry right after it. The thing's two heads spread apart wide, forming what looked almost like a mouth. Miles realized what it was about to do and managed to just barely let out a scream before the thing 'bit' down on his head. His heartbeat tripled, overcome with terror, and he frantically tried to pry the monster's two wet bodies off of him before his skull caved in. Blindly, he managed to aim the rifle at the thing's mattress-like waist and fired again. The agonized scream it let out reverberated throughout his head as the shell entered his attacker at point-blank range. Doing this had saved his life, for the beast let go of him and he fell to the floor right in front of it, dazed but still filled with adrenaline. That should have killed just about anything, but it didn't die; the two melded forms connected to the top of its body continued to bounce up and down, still fucking within the beast's grayed flesh.

Disgusted, Miles still remembered through the fog of horror that he only had four rifle shells left when he entered the room, meaning if he didn't kill it with the next two he was as good as dead. He was practically underneath it now, and if it so much as fell on him his bones would be powdered into dust. Immediately, he aimed up and fired again, being rewarded with another roar and a shower of gore from the creature's underbody. It backed away a bit, giving him enough time and space to get up before it tried to ram his body into the wall a second time. Slapping his wounded back onto the wall, Miles aimed forward at the monster, placing his fingers on the trigger right when the beast charged at him.

'—_One shell left._'

-**_BANG!!!_**

The fourth chunk of lead entered its body. This time, the beasts mixed male and female scream was much louder and more agonized. Its blood sprayed out onto the walls again, and it fell to the floor in a heap, its pulsing bodies' spazming within each other.

With the fight over, Miles breathed a sigh of relief and dropped the empty rifle to the floor. He glanced at Rouge and ran up to her, checking to see if she was okay. Her pale body still trembled; her gloved hands still covered her face. The sound of a traumatized little girl cried out from her chapped lips. Frowning in pity, Miles kneeled down next to her, trying to speak as calmly as he could.

"Rouge are you okay?"

"_Raaaaaahhhh!!!_" Rouge suddenly screamed furiously at the top of her lungs, jumping up and pushing the fox out of the way. He fell to the floor again, surprised, and looked at the bat as she ran up to the monster's fleshy body and started kicking it frantically with her heart-tipped boot. "_Aaarrg!! Rrraaaahh!!_" With every kick, she let out a stressed out and angered scream, which mixed in with the monster's grunts of pain.

Miles slowly stumbled back up to his feet as the enraged batgirl took her anger out on the still living beast. Five more hard kicks later, she ran up to the small desk in the corner of the room and, straining her frail muscles, picked up the staticy TV set. Then she ran back up to the monster, letting out a final scream as she slammed the monitor onto its mangled male head. Glass shattered, along with the beast's skull. It slumped down, probably regretting its own pitiful existence, and finally died from the abuse. But that didn't stop her; she kicked it one final time and burst into tears and choked sobs.

"Rouge, calm down…" Miles tried to say, reaching out to her before she did something crazy.

She spun around and stared at him with an even more enraged glare, the red cracks in her eyes showing. "_STOP ORDERING ME AROUND!!!_"

Miles shook his head, still trying and failing to make her relax. "I'm not trying to order you…"

"Then what do you want then!?" the bat asked quickly. "Oh I see. You're trying to be _nice_ to me, right? Be my friend? Be kind to me? _I know what you're up to! _It's always the same! You're only after one thing!"

"N-no," Miles didn't have to think twice to know what she was talking about. "Not at all!"

"You don't have to lie! Go ahead and say it! Or you could just force me, beat me up like _he_ always did!" Her voice broke in the last sentence and more tears formed in her eyes. Wrapping her hands around her arms, she looked away from him.

"I won't hurt you Rouge…" the blue-eyed fox stated.

"_Shut up!!!_" the spastic bat screamed plaintively. Falling to the floor in a brawl, she began crying even harder and letting out forced dry heaves like she was in great pain. "All you care about is yourself! You sick _pig_!"

She stayed crouched down there, looking down at the dirty gray floor below her. Along the walls, the metal pistons continued to enter and exit the room, now even more rapidly and intensely than before. Miles gave her a moment to calm down a bit, and then placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Rouge—" he wasn't able to finish saying whatever he had to say, because the girl immediately slapped his hand out of the way and began to rise back up to her feet.

"Don't touch me. You make me _sick_." she stated shakily. Once she reached his eyelevel again, she put her hand over her face and wiped away some of the grit, tears, and mascara sticking to it. It stuck to her stained glove like glue. Her eyes gazed around the room for a moment, and then rapidly turned back to him. "Your boyfriend, Sonic, he's dead right?" she asked somewhat calmly, startling the fox with the sudden mood swing.

"Yeah…" Miles stated, not really sure if that was really the correct answer anymore or not. "He was ill…"

"_LIAR!!!_" She screamed at his face again with rage. "You probably found someone else! Just ditched him for another fuck! Like _all _of them do!"

The newspaper-plastered door was right beside her now, and she took that to her advantage. Grabbing the handle, she yanked it open and began to walk out of the cramped room, still keeping her enraged eyes on the fox the whole time as if afraid to take them away for even a second. Quietly, she muttered: "Yeah…found someone else…" and slammed the door closed.

"Found someone else…?" Miles echoed, looking down at the floor. "I'd never cheat on Sonic……I'd never…"

He trailed off. His mind exploded with thoughts of the past, and for a moment he felt so overloaded he thought his head too would explode. As quickly as he could, he pushed it away and tried desperately not to contemplate it.

The obscene mattress monster's body was still pulsating a bit, maybe still not completely dead after the severe beating it had gotten. If it wasn't dead now, it would die pretty soon. Shards of glass from the TV set were already lodged all over it, along with enough rifle shells to kill a wild animal. Blurry white liquid oozed out of both its mouths and onto the floor. Miles instantly knew what it was, judging from the smell and sight, and knowing that grossed him out even more.

"What's happened to you Rouge?" he asked himself distantly. "What is this thing…?"

Disgusted, he picked up his empty rifle and, like the bat before him, exited the room.


	23. Sixty Feet Under

**Sonic Hill 2: DX**

**Chapter 23: Sixty Feet Under**

------

-_Clop…_

-_Clop…_

-_Clop…_

-_Clop…_

Miles peered around the corner cautiously with his handgun drawn and ready to shoot anything that moved. The events that occurred in the newspaper room hadn't exactly eased the intensity of the situation much. Because of this, he was even more high strung than ever before. The rifle—his only powerful weapon—was now just an empty hunk of metal, so he was left with only the handgun to defend himself. Meaning if anything stronger than a straightjacket or mannequin monster decided to intervene in his path, he was done for.

That corridor outside the newspaper room, the one he'd run into Rouge and that freaky monster in, led down a few more corridors, not very surprisingly. To his luck, this section of the labyrinth was a lot more straight forward than deceiving and treacherous, so it only took him about five minutes to travel a decent distance that had taken him a lot longer in the west side of the place. The corridors were leading west a lot more often now, which was good. His somewhat accurate map was drawing closer and closer to where the hedgehog's cell should be. Even if it was only a little bit off, it still led him generally in the right direction.

Now he'd descended another ladder, and was checking out the new corridor. It went straight a few feet, leading up a very short stoop to a steel door. It also branched off to the right a little before it reached the stoop. Down the right end of the corridor was a halfway opened gated door with a staircase behind it that led down a little bit to a place he couldn't see. The young fox decided it was best to check out the door on this floor first and hope for the best, and then if he came up with nothing just head back to here and down the stairs. Easy enough.

Going up the three steps to the door, Miles pulled it open and stepped into the very familiar and well-lit room.

Steel bars stared straight at him, which were surrounded by the interior of a very familiar room. Looks like he'd made it to the other end of the cell after all – he was now standing at the door beside Shadow's bed. Excitement running through his veins, he turned to look at the hedgehog lying on the bed not too far away from the door. "Shadow?"

His desirous intentions crashed down in flames.

"_Shadow!!_" Already he could feel that horrible cold numbness seep through his mind again. His handgun dropped to the floor, and his jaw practically followed. "_No!!_"

Miles Prower slowly stepped closer to the bed, horrified at the sight before him. Tears had already begun to flow down his furry cheeks for the second time as he fell to his knees beside the mattress. Putting his hands to his head, he covered his scalp and let out a sudden sob, his voice breaking as he spoke.

"No…nonononononononono_no_…" the last 'no' was a mere squeak, foreshadowing the moans of pain and sorrow that escaped his lips moments later. It was all too much for him to take in; to accept what had obviously happened when he was away.

The bed sheets were stained with what was undeniably dark crimson; the same color as the hedgehog's now blank eyes that stared up at the ceiling. Seeping out of Shadow's half-opened mouth was only more redness, telling the fox the obvious cause of the beds paintjob. Along with the sheets, blood coated the hedgehog's furry chest.

"S-shadow…" the devastated fox whispered shakily, his face unable to tear away from his now dead friend's body. "What happened to you!?…Why…?…Why…?"

He couldn't believe it…but it had happened again…That distant look of pain was etched in Shadow's blank eyes, telling the fox that his death was not peaceful. Slowly, Miles moved up and laid his head on the hedgehog's stained torso, feeling warmth still emit from it, but no heartbeat. He'd been too late. But he was still warm…Shadow must have died a short period of time ago, possibly mere minutes. If only he'd been a little faster…

Miles took his face off the hedgehog's torso—catching a small ounce of crimson on his ear—and rested it in his palms, his elbows standing weakly on the edge of the mattress. "I failed you…again…"

For what felt like years, he stayed there beside his fallen comrade. Though, probably only a few minutes passed by. Tears of regret—siblings of the tears he'd shed in the hospital long ago—dripped down from his blue lakes of eyes like newborn rivers. His legs trembled, but after a few more minutes passed by, Miles managed to stand back up. He brushed the tears off of his face with his still damp right arm, letting out continuous choked sobs. Shadow was dead, for the second time. That same thought he'd repeated in his head thousands of times the first time around came back, rattling the fox's blue heart.

'_I could have saved him…_'

Gently placing his fingertips at the top of the hedgehog's eyelids, he shut Shadow's pained eyes. There was no more he could do.

The numbness, similar to the one he'd felt constantly before he met the hedgehog but a lot more prominent now, stayed with Miles as he left the cell a few minutes of grieving later. He knew it'd be hard to lose it, and in some ways didn't want to. Shadow's death, for the second time, had left him feeling truly hopeless and alone again – like he had been for a very _very_ long time.

'_Oh Shadow…I'm so sorry…I failed…I failed…I failed…_'

Memories of both the hedgehogs educed themselves again, bringing him only more longing and depression. Shadow was gone now...but the faint hope of Sonic waiting for him in that hotel was enough to keep him going. For now, that tiny flame of hope _still_ burned. He wanted to, _needed_ to, persist in his journey.

"Sonikku…"

It was time to go.

As far as he knew, the only other way he could go now in this corridor was down those other stairs. He sniffled again and tried to regain his alertness. Eyes still moist with tears, Miles began to head for the staircase around the corner. He went through the gate, down the staircase, across the short corridor, and through the thick double doors.

Shining his light into the darkness, Miles's jaw dropped in awe at the new chamber. The place was massive – similar to how the large court in the prison had been, except this room had a lot more in it than that. A long gravel path led straight into the depths of the darkness. Lined along the sides of the path were medium sized stones, withered remains of flowers resting on the small mound of dirt at the foot of them. Green grass covered the ground, creating a nice but out of place garden of some sort alongside the path.

It was hard to imagine, but he was in a large underground graveyard.

The place had to be about as big as a baseball field at least, but Miles couldn't really be sure since it was so dark. The flashlight's beam ended about fifteen feet away, and anything beyond that was just too dark to see before he got closer. Thought it creeped him out, he couldn't help but stare at the tombstones as he passed them by. He only looked at a few of them before he came across a startlingly familiar name.

'**James Sunderland**'

Miles remembered reading that name in that magazine article before entering the historical society…knowing that had scared him. Why would that man be buried all the way down here?

Shrugging it off the best he could, the tense fox continued moving down the path. How many tombstones in total there were, he did not know, but there must have been at least thirty...

'**Keith Fermonti**'

'**Spark Tiger**'

'**Light Hedget**'

'**Ray Squirrel**'

'**Eddie Drimbowski**'

'**Albert Whisker**'

'**Selene Cat**'

'**Angela Orosco**'

'**Mary "Traitor" Karlson**'

So many names…

Gravel crunched and cracked under his feet as he continued moving down the cemetery path. It was so quiet, but every sound Miles made seemed louder than it should be. A rat of fear gently gnawed on the back of his head. Graveyards always creeped him out, but the level of fear they emitted was much more intense all the way down here. If something happened to him, no one would be able to save him. Not on the streets of the town, and definitely not down here.

The sound of his trembling feet against the gravel abruptly stopped as he came to a halt. The back of the room was only a few yards away now, and hugging the back wall were three clean new looking tombstones lined up in a row. Under each of them was a large vacant hole, which led about six feet down, like the coffin had not yet been lowered into it. Suddenly feeling even more scared, Miles slowly stepped up to the nearest stone, the one the farthest to the left. His eyes widened when he recognized the name engraved on it.

'**Eggman Robotnik**'

"Eggman…?"

That didn't make any sense. As far as he knew, Eggman was still alive…and even if the man had been killed by one of the monsters or something, that wouldn't explain why he already has his own tombstone. Not to mention why it was all the way down here…

Shaking his head, Miles looked over at the grave right next to it, the one in the middle of the three. His heart skipped a beat as he read the name engraved on that one too.

'**Rouge Bat**'

"No…Rouge…"

Wasn't she still alive too? Or did she…did she…

The hungry rat in the back of his mind was now biting even more fiercely, knowing its meal was soon to get all the more tender. Miles was deeply afraid of what the final grave on the right would say, but he had to see it…he had no other choice…

And when he did, a gasp of horror escaped his lips. It was the most familiar name he'd known in his entire life:

'**Miles Prower**'

"Oh my god…"

He bit his lip, and felt that familiar icey snake slither down his spine. The cadaverous stone before him sent waves and waves of dread through his body, and it was not pleasant. Things had far past gotten too weird and too frightening, but Miles knew it still was not over. Who was behind all this? And who, in particular, was really trying to kill them?

'_This isn't…I…_'

Miles didn't even know what to think.

But he did notice something, something horrible but something he knew he had to do. The hole in front of his grave was different from that of Eggman's and Rouge's. Instead of ending on more dirt six feet below, there was no bottom in sight. Only blackness. Just like so many holes he'd had to jump down to travel deeper into The Abyss earlier, it looked almost bottomless.

'_Another one…_'

Was he really so brave as to do it?

'_Sonikku…anything for you…I've got nowhere to go, and nothing else to live for anyway…only you…_' the trembling fox took a deep breath. He was horrified, terrified, but he knew it was what he had to do. Besides, if worse came to worse, was death really even that bad of an option for him anymore? '_I won't give up…I…I won't…_'

Taking in a final deep, shaky breath, Miles jumped down his own grave.

---

…

…

…

"_Uuugnn…_"

The floor was ice cold.

Letting out a low pained moan in reaction to his aching body, Miles lifted himself off the floor and got up to his feet. Like all the other times, he had no idea how far he'd fallen, but it wasn't enough to liquefy his frail body. Still, it hurt an awful lot. Checking all his possessions—the guns on his back, the contents in his pockets, and the items in his side pack and carrying bag—he felt easement when he found that they were all still in one piece. A little wet from the trek through the place, but at least in one piece.

Now it was time to focus on where the hell he was. It felt extremely cold, even more so than it did on the foggy streets, like he was stuck inside a freezer or something. His location was a short corridor with a set of double doors at the end of it. Lining the walls near the doors were some pipes, which emitted cloudy ice-cold air. That must be it. Miles began to walk towards the doors, feeling the air sting and numb his wet fur as he went.

When he opened the doors, the horrible smell immediately filled his senses, stinging his sinuses like a deadly bee. This new room was some sort of large walk-in freezer; tubes spewing out more cold gas were lined around the room, and the walls and floor were coated in a layer of ice. But that was the least of his worries though; there was blood _everywhere_. Over 13 dead bodies, each pumped full of lead, were sprawled out on the floor or leaning on the walls. Gore coated their bodies, along with several bullet holes.

And in the very center of the room stood Eggman, aiming a hot Luger at one of the bullet riddled corpses. Though it was freezing, the armpits of his red jacket were stained with sweat. His matching red whiskers were messed up, and had some flakes of ice on them too. His glasses were still missing, showing his large gray pupils that were focused only on the corpse alongside the Luger. The tendrils on the mans pale neck seemed to strain as he slowly turned and stared down at the fox's shocked face.

"E-Eggman!" Miles stuttered, shocked and horrified at what had obviously happened in the room possibly minutes ago. "W-what have you done!?"

"What the _fuck_ does it look like!?" Eggman's screamed with anger, the cold walls magnifying his voice a thousand times. Taking his eyes off Miles, he glanced back at the dead corpse beside him. "He always busted my balls! 'You fat disgusting piece of shit, you make me sick!' 'Fucking fatass! Look what you've done with yourself! You're just a waste of skin!' 'Hey look, it's a giant talking egg!' 'You're so fat that in school you sat next to _everybody_!'"

"Eggman…"

"They always made fun of me!! _Always! _They never stopped! Well, maybe they were right. Maybe I really _am_ a fat disgusting piece of shit…" Eggman looked at the fox, a maniacal grin forming on his chapped lips that matched perfectly with his even more insane eyes. "But you know what? It doesn't matter if you're smart, dumb, ugly, pretty…it's all the same once you're _dead!_"

With a squeeze of the trigger, the bald man fired another round into the lifeless hulk of flesh beside him. A new large hole appeared at the top of the corpses head, spraying another ounce of blood and brains onto the cold floor and walls around it.

Miles jumped at the gunshot, even more terror seeping into his body. Eggman had lost it. People had made fun of him so much, he lost it…

"_And a corpse can't laugh…_" the man barely whispered, a trace of happiness and humor in his tone. Putting the gun to his head like in the prison, he made a shooting gesture. "From now on, if _anybody_ makes fun of me,_ I'LL FUCKIN' KILL 'EM!!!_ _JUST LIKE THAT!!!_"

The fox's blood ran cold, and he suddenly couldn't move anymore. Was it the temperature of the room doing this, or was it the insane man standing before him? Ending the conversation suddenly, Eggman turned and casually walked to the door behind him.

"E-eggman…you've gone nuts…" Miles thought out loud, flabbergasted.

Eggman stopped dead in his tracks, his back arching up like someone had pointed a gun to him. Miles immediately bit his lip, realizing what he'd just said and feeling extremely stupid for saying it. That mistake just might cost him his life.

"I knew it…" Eggman slowly turned around to face him, a surprised look of betrayal in his dull eyes. "You too…you're just like them…you've been laughing at me all along, haven't you? Ever since we first met!"

"No!" Miles held his hands out, trying to speak as calmly as he could. The terror in his voice showed, unfortunately. Silently he wondered if this what was the others in the room were saying before they were reduced to the lifeless corpses they were now. "I-I didn't mean anything! I'm not making fun of you, I never w—"

"_Shut the _fuck _up!!_" Eggman screamed with rage, his eyes narrowing at the young fox. "You're _all_ making fun of me! All of you!_ I'LL KILL YOU MILES!!!_"

Time froze for a second as a billion thoughts shot through Miles's brain at once. Eggman raised his gun up to the fox's eye level and looked at him with a maniacal grin, the 'Prepare to die' grin, a grin that sent tingles of fear down his spine.

(_oh god hes gonna kill me oh what have i done whats happened to him so—_)

'_—MOVE!_'

Blood shot down the fox's thin legs and before he knew it, he was off the ground and flying through the air. A loud roar from Eggman's Luger rung out through his ears. The sound echoed off of the cold walls, pulsing rapidly through his head. The ice flooring met his shoulder, sending a huge pain reverberating throughout his body. And for another second he couldn't move. Had Eggman hit him? His whole body felt numb, frozen with fear, or maybe he was dying—

(_!no your not dying you dodged it but hell he'll shoot you now and here if you dont do something quick so move your sorry ass move miles!_)

His left hand franticly searched for his own handgun in his side-pack as his terrified eyes looked back up at the madman, whose gun was still aimed at the door. The whole thing had taken place in only a second, but hours seemed to pass by for the young fox. He felt the hard handle of his gun and immediately ripped it out. At that same time Eggman realized he missed and looked over at the fox, laying on the floor like an injured wild animal. Simultaneously they aimed at each other's faces; a deadly draw that might just cost one of them their lives. But Miles squeezed the trigger an instant before the other man could. The bullet zipped passed the fat man, missing him entirely, but the sound had distracted him long enough for Miles to fire again. He squeezed the trigger as hard as he could again and the third sound was heard roaring through the room. Crimson red flew out of the Eggman's left arm and he let out a small yelp of agony. Before Miles could even fire again, Eggman turned and charged out the door.

…

The two-tailed fox's heart seemed to beat a thousand times a second as he slowly got up.

'_You just dodged a bullet._' Miles stated to himself almost casually, too shocked to imagine he'd just done that.

"That was a close one…" He panted lightly. "Eggman…" He looked forward, at the now closed metal door that the man just went through.

(_eggmans got a gun and god only knows how much ammo miles and the door he went through is the only way out so now what youre going to go out there and get shot to death f—_)

'_Shut up!_' another part of his mind screamed. The brush with death had split his soul into making multiple thoughts rapidly. Shaking his head to try and relax, his eyes narrowed. '_No other way out…_' He closed his eyes, breathing in the icy air. '_And I've got to stop him…_'

With a nod, the young furry ran through the door after Eggman.


	24. The Reverse Will

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 24: The Reverse Will

------

The meat locker was just as cold as the freezer before it, but it was also twice as big, and dark. Giant slabs of meat were suspended in the air by hangers lined across the ceiling, providing a hiding place for Miles if things got crazy - and he knew they probably would. Unfortunately, this meant Eggman had a hiding place too, and that was not good, not good at all. The young fox stood in the center of the room right now, realizing that doing that was a very stupid thing to do all too late to turn back and hide. Now, the other man could easily shoot him in any location from behind one of the meat slabs if he chose to.

"_Shit…_" the fox whispered, looking around for wherever the man could be. Eggman was nowhere to be found. There were four rows of meat slabs total, two on one half of the room and the other two on the other half. There was a decently large open space between them. The other man could be hiding just about anywhere…

"_Do you know what it does to you, Miles!?_" He heard Eggman's voice echo throughout the room. The ever-moving magnification of it off of the ice-sheeted walls made it impossible to identify exactly where he was.

"What!?" Miles asked. He had no other choice but to communicate.

"When you're hated! Picked on! Spit on just because of the way you look, or because you don't fit their retarded definition of perfect!? After you've been made fun of your whole _fucking life!?_"

"Yes," Miles admitted, trying to deal with him. Highschool, like for many others, was not a very pleasant moment in his life. Naturally, everyone hated him for who and what he was, except for Sonic…so they all hated Sonic too. The hedgehog was only bisexual, but it still meant the same thing to them. Miles felt a lot of the same things the other man must have—woo, what a scary acknowledgement that was—but he knew the difference between right and wrong at least…

"They'd call me a faggot, make fun of my two tails, make me feel miserable…" he said, letting off a little of his misery at the very man who might just end it soon if he wasn't careful. "I hated them so much. But I'd never _kill_ them for it! It's not right to do that…"

"But doesn't it make you feel terrible? Doesn't it make you just wanna _die_?"

"Yeah…"

"That's why I ran away after I killed that dog!" the fat man shouted from afar. His voice had a slight twist of humor in it. "Ran like a scared little girl! Yeah, I killed him, guilty as charged. You wouldn't believe it. It was _fun_; he even tried to chew his own guts out like his ancestors! That is…until he died…screaming…pathetically curled into a little ball…the look on his eyes was priceless! Hahahaha! That's what he gets!"

The fox stood frozen in fear, knowing how serious this really was. He was trapped in a room miles from civilization with a madman. A madman who's very angry. A madman with a gun…

"Then his friend, that guy, came after me. So I shot him too! Right in the knee! He screamed more than the _dog_!"

-_BANG!_

Miles jumped, let out a small scream, and closed his eyes, expecting to feel a bullet enter his back at any moment. But none came; he opened his eyes and quickly turned around to look at the entrance door where the bullet must of landed. The gluttonous man must have just been trying to scare him with that shot…

"He's gonna have a hard time playing football with what's left of _that_ leg! _Hahahahahaha!_" Eggman's maniacal laugh bounced and echoed throughout the meat locker.

"You think it's okay to kill people!?" Miles cried as his eyes darted around the room. Wherever Eggman was, the man could see him. "You need _help_, Eggman!"

"Don't get all holy on _me_, Miles! This town called you too! Can't you see? You and me are the same; we're…_different_ from everyone else. Don't you understand that!? Well, I guess it doesn't matter. We're _all_ gonna die in this town anyway. So why don't we stop worrying about that. Let's play a little game, shall we Miles? Only one of us is gonna leave this room alive! Let's see just _who_!"

Footsteps.

Miles whirred around to see Eggman standing behind him with the gun in hand. An insane, inhumanly wide grin spread across his pale white face. "Haha! Come on Miles! _Let's party!_"

Like in the freezer a minute ago, time practically froze itself for the fox. Moving at a desperately quick yet insanely slow pace, Eggman raised the Luger in his hand up to Miles's chest, about to physically cut out a hole in his heart to match with the mental one. That same rush of blood and adrenalin that Miles felt before shot through his legs, and not an instant too late. The smaller fox jumped out of the way—a split second before the weapon went off—and landed on the cold floor, sliding across its icy surface uncontrollably. It had defiantly worked for the better though, for his path had went right by a crate behind one of the slabs of meat. That terrifying roar of the gun exploded into his ears again. Chunks of ice behind where he was a moment earlier blew up like freezing firecrackers. Reaching his hands out quickly, Miles grabbed onto the crate and slid behind it, narrowly missing an array of bullets in the process.

The wooden crates did little to protect him, for the sharp chunks of lead easily shattered and splintered the edges of them. Still, they had yet to kiss or bury themselves into his flesh, to his eternal relief. Three misaimed bullets later, the gunfire suddenly stopped, and he immediately assumed the man must be reloading. Quickly, he stood up, handgun raised and ready to shoot the man down if he had to or at least stop him. Eggman moved out of the way just in time though, missing two of the bullets as he sprinted surprisingly fast for his weight to behind a slab of meat.

Miles said something, but he couldn't really tell what it was – he'd been too focused on the man to even acknowledge his own voice. Perhaps that was a good thing, for it gave him enough time to duck behind the crate just in time to dodge two returned bullets by the fat man across the room. The radical sounds the gunfight created were overwhelming, and the scared fox was trying his best not to do anything remotely stupid or he'd be as good as dead.

"You can't hide forever, Miles!" Eggman shouted from afar, his voice being tailed by two more gunshots. A chunk of the crate by Miles's large orange-yellow ear splintered and blew off, alerting him that the block of wood wouldn't hold out much longer. He had no other choice but to run.

Springing to his feet, Miles sped up the room; running along the wall and hearing more gunshots dangerously close behind him. The rows of meat provided the thin barriers protecting him from the led, making him very glad they were there in the first place. Clumsily, he slipped on the ice in his mad dash and cried out when he fell to the floor, sliding across is even faster than when he was running. The back wall was only a few feet ahead now, and if he ran into it head first it wouldn't be pretty. As fast as he could, he spun around on the ground, putting his feet to the wall and pushing. He slid back the way he came until he grabbed onto one piece of meat and stumbled up, almost slipping over in the process like he was trying on ice skates for the first time.

'_Only a few bullets left…_' he thought with despairing vulnerability. He didn't know exactly how many were left in his gun, but it had to be less than ten. Maybe five or six…

He noticed the gunshots had ceased, which means the other man must be reloading again. Miles moved out from behind the meat, aiming across the room and expecting to see his enemy standing there.

But Eggman was gone.

'_What?_'

He almost let out a scream when he felt the nozzle of Eggman's Luger push against his cheek. With lightning quick reflexes, he grabbed the weapon and pushed it out of his face. Just in time too, because that moment Eggman fired. The bullet ricochet off the wall, almost hitting both of them, but not breaking their concentration enough to stop their now hand to hand battle. Miles tried his best to keep the gun out of his face, holding it away, but it was not easy. Eggman not only had longer arms than him but was also over a foot taller, giving him a distinct advantage. In unison they let out grunts of frustration and anger, until Eggman used his free hand and punched the younger one in the stomach. Doing this made Miles lose his grip and fall down onto his pained back.

Grinning broadly, Eggman aimed down to shoot the fox in the head, but before he could fire again Miles kicked his leg out and hit the slab of meat beside them. The slabs hanger moved across the ceiling, hitting Eggman with its load and knocking him to the floor too. The deadly weapon in his hand flew out and landed on the floor a few yards away.

They both glanced at each other, and then at the weapon. Eggman immediately got up and dived for it, but a second before he was able to grab it a loud bang rung out and the Luger hopped off the floor, bouncing even farther back until it landed in the dark corner on the other side of the room.

Miles immediately fired his weapon again, but missed the large fat man by quite a few feet when Eggman jumped and slid on his feet across the floor up to him. He grabbed the fox's arm and threw it up in the air, causing Miles to lose his grip on the weapon. It landed on the floor somewhere else, but he couldn't tell exactly where – he was too focused on the maniac attacking him at the moment. Eggman's fist connected with his face, sending a wave of pain crashing into him so hard he almost fell over. Before he knew it, the taller man was no longer grabbing onto him and already running towards where his weapon must have landed. If Eggman got hold of that, he knew he was dead. In a very animal-like fashion, Miles lunged at the man, but he'd reacted too slowly and only landed on the floor right behind him. Eggman's foot was not out of reach though, and before he got away Miles grabbed onto the man's boot and twisted it.

A cry of pain emitted from Eggman's lips and he fell flat on his face. Before he even hit the ground, Miles was back up and running for the gun. Repeating the same technique the fox used, Eggman grabbed onto his leg and held tight. It was Miles's turn to fall, and he did, landing on the cold floor hard. He'd come to almost expect that, and immediately kicked the lunatic behind him in the face. Eggman still managed to get up though, but instead of diving for the weapon a second time, he turned and ran back to the opposite end of the meat locker. Doing this had saved his life, for Miles grabbed the handgun a few feet ahead, spun around, and opened fire on the running man. It was now vise versa of what it had been before; this time Eggman running away and barely managing to dodge the extremely fast bullets. Some of the ammo engraved itself into the slabs of meat, while others chose the wall instead. Only a few bullets were fired before Miles heard that intensely dismaying click of the empty chamber.

"Fuck!" he cried. Throwing the now useless gun behind him, he reached around and pulled out the equally useless rifle. It had no ammo left, he knew, thus meaning no real way to defend himself. And if Eggman got a hold of that Luger…

"_Eeeeyaaaaaah!_"

The young fox jumped when a battle cry erupted from not too far away. And suddenly, Eggman was only a few feet in front of him, holding a long and deadly samurai sword in his grasp. Screaming, Miles held the rifle in front of his face, using it as a shield against the man's surprising new weapon. It worked, but the force of the blade against the stick of metal in his hands sent him stumbling backwards, instinctively lowering the rifle in the process. Dangerously swiftly, and with amazing agility, Eggman swung the blade vertically, cutting a small amount of flesh and fur off of Miles's furry chest. A small line of blood appeared there, but only a little. Had the tip of the weapon been much closer, or had Eggman's nearly professional swing been faltered a bit, Miles knew it probably would have been fatal.

Falling back to the floor, Miles immediately rolled out of the way, avoiding a third swing from his combatant, this one horizontally smashing into the ice mere inches away from where he was a second ago. Extremely quickly, Miles rolled so he was lying on his chest, put his hands to the floor, and pushed up while spinning his twin tails simultaneously. Doing this caused him to stand up straight again lightning quick, which gave him enough time to block another swing from Eggman's katana. Miles kicked the fat man where it hurts, the result being the now groaning man leaning forward for a nice punch. Miles did that, switching hands with the rifle and swinging his right fist. He felt a pleasant but painful smack as it connected with Eggman's small face.

For a moment he wondered if this was how the bullies at school manhandled the insane man. And for an even shorter moment he wondered if he'd ever swung a punch that hard or accurate in his entire life.

Eggman stumbled to the left, a small trace of blood spraying out of his oversized pink nose, but Miles didn't give him a chance to get free before delivering another blow. He smashed the butt of the rifle into the man's back, sending Eggman falling to the floor while groaning in pain.

Amazingly quickly, Eggman jumped back up and spun around, swinging and then letting go of the katana in his hand. Miles side-stepped out of the way just in time to dodge the attack, feeling the wind as the blade swung past him in like a spiked star. Its insane journey ended when it swung itself into a piece of the meat, cutting it off and letting it fall to the floor in a heap. Miles's eyes widened when he felt a very thin cut on his cheek, which a drop of blood formed around. Looked like the tip of the weapon had just hit him after all, but like before, not enough to be fatal.

He was so shocked by the array of near-death experiences that it took him a little too long to notice Eggman was now running to re-equip the blade. Miles broke into a sprint, running alongside the man till they both reached the katana at the same time. Eggman was the quicker one though, and stomped on the end of the blade's handle, making it flip up into the air and land in his hand. He stabbed the blade forward at the fox, but Miles dodged it just in time. The weapon stabbed into the slab of meat behind him. Moments later it was no longer there and the meat was on the floor as Eggman did a spinning horizontal swing, cutting the beef off but missing Miles's head entirely as the fox ducked under his attack. With even more amazing agility, Eggman turned the katana and attempted to vertically bring it down upon Miles's skull, but the fox held up his rifle to counter that attack right before it would have hit him.

Both let out more grunts. Eggman continued to swing the weapon down or across the fox, each time being countered as Miles blocked its path with his rifle. The fox's azure blue eyes darted back and forth, frantically searching for an escape. If this continued, he'd be confetti in no time. Eggman suddenly swung the blade horizontally faster and harder than before, and Miles just barely managed to block himself again. But the force of the attack sent the gun flying out of his hand. Miles backed up, jumping and continuously dodging every jab and swing Eggman tried to hit him with. The fat man raised the weapon above his head and tried to slice Miles in two, but the time in which it took for him to bring it down upon the fox gave Miles enough time to run out of the way. And he did, running right past Eggman and up to where the two fallen bunches of meat lay. Spinning around, Miles stared at the man, knowing very well that he was now defenseless. Eggman knew that too, and grinned evilly at that fact.

'_Notgoodnotgoodnotgood!_' Miles looked left and right rapidly, desperately looking for a way to dodge what was obviously going to be his fatal ambush in a few seconds. His savior lie in the darkness of the corner beyond the lunatic only a few yards in front of him.

'—_Eggman's gun!_'

Glancing at him, then back at the gun repeatedly, Miles realized Eggman didn't seem to remember it was behind him. If he could just some how get past that blade…

With a deep breath, the fox broke into an insane sprint towards the other man, running directly at him at top speed. Eggman, slightly surprised by the blue-eyed fox's strange reaction, let out a battle cry and swung the sword horizontally. But a second before the blade would have hit its victim, Miles dived down to the ground and slid across the icy floor, sliding right underneath the katana's path. He grabbed the gun in mid slide, rolling around and speeding ahead until his back hit the wall hard, causing him to wince in pain once again.

Eggman turned around and his eyes widened in shock as he saw Miles holding his gun. Hell, it was beyond shock – an indescribable mixture of terror and understanding. Their eyes met for one short moment that seemed to drag on for an eternity. That moment ended the millisecond Miles narrowed his eyes and squeezed the trigger.

-_BANG!_

Crimson spurt out of Eggman's chest, and he stopped dead in his tracks. A gasp escaped his pale lips as that horrifyingly numb feeling most only feel once enveloped his body. Less than half a second later, the numbness turned into extreme pain, forcing a cry of pure agony from his dried throat. Miles's jaw dropped as he saw blood spittle out of the man's mouth, a look of anguish and fear in his gray eyes. Feeling irony and an unbearable wave of pain, Eggman fell to his knees. His mouth spurted out more and more blood as his dying eyes starred at Miles's shaking figure. Everything suddenly felt hazy, with that darkness slowly surrounding him.

Finally, his face met the cold floor. His body sunk into the darkness: death, and all he heard now was silence.

Silence. Forever.

…

…

…

"…Eggman…?" Miles's shakily asked as he stared at Eggman's now limp body. Blood silently flowed out of the fat mans chest and onto the frozen floor, joining with the blood seeping from his mouth and creating a pool around him. The still living fox's eyes widened. He placed the gun on the floor while stumbling up to his feet. "Eggman…?" He asked again. No response came from the middle-aged man. And none would ever come again.

Placing his hand on the mans back, he turned the body around. Eggman's blank gray eyes stared back up at him. "_Eggman!!_"

Slowly, he rose to his feet, still not believing he'd ended the life of someone who was alive less than ten seconds ago. It felt a lot different than when he killed the monsters. A_ lot_.

"I…I killed a living being…" Miles stuttered, shock apparent in his slightly high voice. His hand covered his mouth, though he didn't really notice it. Almost silently, he repeated through the cracks between his fingers. "_A living being…_"

He closed his eyes tightly. It was self-defense. Eggman was crazy and was trying to kill him. He was suffering so much, he was always being made fun of, always being teased, always being rejected. All because he was overweight, they had made his life so miserable until one day the jokes and putdowns drove him over the edge and he killed someone. Then he ran away from the cops, hiding away in this misty town, not knowing he'd be brutally betrayed and murdered by someone he considered an ally. Pity, mixed in with distain filled the fox's senses. Behind all that, there was a steadily growing trace of guilt.

"I'm sorry…" Miles said as his eyes began to water. Biting his lip, he held back the few tears he could shed and kneeled down again, feeling around the man's jacket pockets. As guilty as it made him, he'd have to take whatever items and ammo Eggman had to defend himself from the monsters.

Within Eggman's left jacket pocket, Miles pulled out the Book of Lost Memories. Flipping through the pages a little, he saw that it was still intact. But he wasn't planning on reading it right now; he didn't have the time or patience. He put the book in his carrying bag and examined Eggman's other pockets. Four clips of handgun bullets were within the other pocket, which Miles took and put in his side pack also. He dropped Eggman's gun to the floor. The clip within the Luger was empty; he had fired the last bullet.

The weapons of their now forever finished battle were strewn about the cold silent meat locker like the aftermath of a party gone wrong. It was hard to believe just a moment ago they were battling to the death. Miles picked the katana off the floor beside the man's corpse, swinging it around a few times and admiring the swish it made when it cut through the air. It was heavier than it looked in the movies, but other than that it was a perfect weapon for if he ever ran out of bullets again, so Miles kept it. The sheath to the weapon was fastened around the fat man's body, but Miles managed to take it off and wrap it around his waist – feeling grimly disgusting in doing so. Quickly, he reminded himself he needed to do this if he expected to continue, and then picked up his other two weapons; the empty rifle, which he strapped back around his shoulder, and the empty handgun, which he reloaded and put back in his side-pack. Looking ahead, he saw the set of heavy double doors in the back of the room, which paralleled to the door he'd used to enter. It was time to go.

Miles felt that tidal wave of guilt wash over him again, along with that feeling like his head was about to implode in itself. At the same time, it felt as if all the blood drained out of the back of his brain. But he managed to push those thoughts away, knowing that it was either kill or be killed in this situation. He'd had no other choice.

"Goodbye, Eggman." Miles whispered. Taking one last shaky nervous look at Eggman's chubby egg-shaped corpse, he pushed the double doors open and walked out of the cold tomb of a meat locker.

A weak smile formed on his lips as he finally got to breathe fresh, cold air once again. Fog coated the whole place, for once actually comforting the fox even though its brightness burned his eyes. He was outside again, standing on the wooden docks on the shoreline. It didn't make any sense at all—and things in Sonic Hill rarely did—but after all that trekking through the underground areas, he'd reached the docks only about a hundred meters out and ten feet below the Sonic Hill Historical Society. He couldn't see South Vale from here, but if the fog was cleared he could probably see some of the buildings, not to mention Rosewater Park…

Miles shook his head and tried to stay focused on the matter at hand. Logical and realistic or not, he'd finally reached the docks, and that was all that mattered. The cold air caused him to shiver slightly, but he felt much more comfortable out here. It wasn't much colder than it was inside. Besides, the air was so stogy in the underground passages; here he could finally breathe again.

His still somewhat damp shoes stepped across the wooden boards as he walked along the small harbor. A single rowboat floated stagnantly above the water near the dock's edge, eagerly waiting for its next rider to climb in. He'd have to row all the way across Lake Toluca, which was almost a mile long, but that was okay. At least he was finally getting somewhere. After countless hours in the same section of town, he was finally getting somewhere. Sonic was waiting for him in that hotel across the mass of water, and he had to get there.

A bright light was shining aloof the fog, directly north of where the tired fox stood. A guiding light…

With his head held up high, Miles Prower stepped into the boat and began to silently row.


	25. The Lakeview Hotel

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 25: The Lakeview Hotel

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The wooden paddle silently pushed across the cold murky water, slowly bringing the boat and its carrier across the lake. Miles couldn't help but feel nervous; he hadn't forgotten what he had read about the legend of the lake in the prison. Lots of people, possibly hundreds, drowned to death here over years of seemingly random incidents caused by unknown forces. In the back of his mind he felt fear that he might soon be joining them.

It was so quiet too. So damn silent that even the most palpable noises, such as his own slow respiration, seemed magnified tenfold.

-_Creekcreek!_

His eyes darted across the waves, fruitlessly looking for the cause of that abrupt noise. It sounded like something…something…

-_Creek!_

Sweat formed on his brow as he looked down to the water below him. For a split second, he could have sworn he saw five long bony fingers dragging across the oh-so-thinning wood. But the image that shot an arrow of fear through him disappeared right away. It was nothing, he knew. Really.

Miles shook his head for the millionth time; he couldn't let fear take him over like this. Fear was the death bringer; he wasn't going to let it win. If he had run away when he was afraid in the beginning, he could have never even had a chance at finding his love. He was afraid, very afraid, of what lie ahead, but it couldn't be worse than what he'd already experienced anyway. Still. Fear can't kill you, but…

After all this, he had so (_oh so_) much to fear. (_nothing right every things so scary here youve gone through so much but your almost there miles your almost there_)

It'd be better not to worry. He was already halfway across the lake. Following the distant light seemed to be leading him in the right direction. He was very glad it was there to draw him towards the shore, for if it wasn't he'd probably of been lost for hours. It was so damn foggy that he still could barely see more than five feet in front of him. Once he thought about it, it was quite amazing that the light could be seen all the way from here.

After another five long minutes, Miles saw the dock aloof the fog. Pretty soon afterwards, his boat reached it and stopped next to the wooden pathway. Right when it did, he hoped out and onto the solid surface. He surprised himself in how much better he suddenly felt. That short jaunt had scared him; after all that darkness and chaos and insanity, just a normal quiet moment scared him. Ironic. Sanity felt like it was slipping away, being replaced by another fleet of questions. He hadn't even really thought about it till now, but what would happen if he finally got out of here? If he found Sonic, would everything just go back to the way it had been three years ago? Or would this seriously effect him? All this horror and sadness…all this…

(_too much for me to handle its getting to me but i wont give up i wont let them win i will get out of here i will find you sonikku i will i promise_)

His aching feet stepped across the wood, only moving a few steps before he looked to where that guiding light had been. To his surprise, he found a strangely familiar looking object hung up on a lamppost beside where he stopped the boat.

Another emerald, this one red with a light pink aura, sat there. It was only the second one he'd found since the town got back to normal (or at least as normal as it could be), but that meant about six emeralds in total so far…that seemed like too much of a coincidence. There weren't many multicolored emeralds on the planet if he recalled, especially ones this big. They must be worth a serious fortune…if not useful to him somehow. Miles picked up the emerald and put it in his carrying bag along with the other few larger items he'd placed in there. There was no time to just stand there and gawk at something that really wasn't important. He was closer to Sonic than he'd been in three years, and he wasn't about to just turn away.

Less than a minute later, Miles was there. The dock had only gone a few yards before it reached the soft dirt of the shore, and pretty quickly he reached the short set of stone stairs that lead up to the hotel's back court. And now, Miles stood before the building, staring up at it.

A weak, reassured smile formed on his lips. "Heh, this place hasn't changed at all in three years…"

He'd been fighting, running, and working so hard to get here. And finally, it all paid off. The Lakeview Hotel was probably the building that—from the outside at least—looked the least different from how he remembered it. Even through the fog, it still looked so beautiful, standing high above the fox. It looked basically like a large three story mansion, kind of. Big, beautiful, and less modern day looking than most hotels. A nice red roof, beautiful green garden, clean windows shining along the walls with chintz drapes over most of them. It was still the great composed structure it was when he and Sonic visited the place so long ago. Things being that way made him feel even more reassured. Sonic, his love, was waiting for him here. He knew it.

"I'm coming for you, Sonikku…" he whispered softly. Head held up even higher than it had been in years, Miles Prower entered the Lakeview Hotel.

The back hall of the place was shaped like a T. While a hallway of that shape was not unnatural to him in the town, it did look a lot better than any of the others he'd been through. Long, velvet carpets covered the floor. A few cabinets and paintings and various other elegant things were lined along the walls. Not too far in front of him were two sets of double doors, both about ten yards apart from one another. If he recalled, both those doors led into the hotel's lobby.

Where the right side of the hall began was another set of double doors, though he couldn't see it from here. They led into the Lakeshore Restaurant. Sonic and he had eaten there a lot, whenever they weren't out partying or enjoying the various attractions of the town or something. It served great food, and Miles's favorite mint candies. He remembered there was a female fox that worked there. Alia something. She was beautiful, Miles admitted. He might be gay, but he could tell if a woman was beautiful or not, and she surely was. Sonic had always teased about him and her being a cute couple, and she would just laugh at his stupid antics.

Letting out a sigh, Miles silently wondered if she was still alive. And if she _was_ alive, where she had gone. Everyone in the place seemed to have just…_disappeared_.

The doors on both ends of the T lead into other corridors of the hotel, which surrounded the lobby. The right side of the first floor was the staff only area, and the left one was for the guest halls. He couldn't exactly remember if it was the same layout on the second floor, but it was similar. The third floor was all for guests though.

He took a few steps forward, stopping when he saw something on one of the cabinets. A large piece of paper similar to the ones he'd seen earlier. Picking it up, he found out he was right in his assumption: it was a hotel map.

There was something written on it, over the room 312 on floor three:

'**_Waiting for you_**'

It was Sonic's handwriting.

Miles's eyes widened. 312 was the room they'd stayed in, which meant…

"Sonic…?"

A grin appeared on his face, a very happy one. That proved it. Sonic _was_ here! Only two floors up, and down the hall. Fast as lightning, Miles ran down the T's left hall and through the guest corridor door. Taking an immediate right, he ran up the stairway, spiraling upwards two steps at a time. The lobby stairs would lead him to the third floor also, but not as quickly or as directly as these ones would.

Like a knight in shining armor running to save the 'princess', Miles charged up the steps, waves of excitement hitting him in a similar fashion to how the waves of several negative emotions hit him earlier. And pretty soon, that excitement turned back into disappointed sadness.

"No!"

Ahead, blocking the entrance to the third floor corridor, was a barred gate. The fox grasped onto the bars and almost cried right then and there. He should have known. It couldn't be _that _easy. It never was. From where he stood, he could see the door to room 312 standing not too far away, teasing him, mocking him.

'_I'm right here!_' Miles imagined the door saying. '_Everything you want, and you can't catch me! Hahaha!_'

He glared at the door like a starved man looking through a window at a huge banquet of food. Banging his head on the bars, he let out a frustrated and saddened groan. While the bars were locked closed, there was a keyhole, meaning there had to be a key somewhere around here. Not that surprising, really.

Feeling aggravated and heartbroken, Miles turned around and began to walk back down the steps.

"_Tails!!_"

Miles jumped and whirred around, half expecting to see Sonic's standing on the other end of the bars. But he wasn't. It was Sonic's voice, but he was nowhere in sight. Meaning he must have been calling from the other end of the door to room 312…

"Sonic? Are you there!?" Miles called, running back up to the gate and desperately hoping for a response. It was all he needed to keep going. "…Sonic?"

But only silence sheeted the hall.

'_N-no…_' he thought, ears drooping sadly. Was he just hearing things? Or maybe Sonic…Sonic…

The town really seemed to like to screw with his mind. Dismayed, Miles turned to walk back down the steps once again. If Sonic really was there, maybe he was locked inside or…something. Hell, he didn't know. But what he did know was that if he planned on getting to that room he'd need to find the keys to that gate. They must be somewhere around here, most likely on the staff only area. But for now it was probably best to check the whole place out. First thing should be the Lakeshore Restaurant, since he knew the layout of that place. Besides, he was horribly hungry. He hadn't really even noticed till now—whenever fear, excitement, and adrenaline mixed in, things like food seemed to be forgotten—but his stomach was a swollen pit of hunger, feeling like it was eating itself inside out. He couldn't even remember the last time he ate something…wait, yeah he could. It was when he ate at that gas station yesterday, or whenever it was…

The tables of the restaurant were all lined up, just as he remembered. Red velvet crepe covered the clean wood; nice cushioned seats encompassing each of them. In the right corner of the room was a black grand piano, almost the same kind as in the hospital…usually during dinner, a young pianist—a quite handsome male tiger—would place soft, mellow tunes on it to calm the guests nerves. Big clean windows lined the walls, all looking out onto the foggy porch outside. It was easing, seeing some things really hadn't changed.

Miles couldn't help but move closer to the piano, just to take a wishful trip down memory lane. Sonic tried playing on it a few times…of course, he was still bad at it, but it was cute and funny to watch. Tiredly, the fox rested his arms on the side of the piano and let out another woeful sigh.

His heart almost jumped out of his chest when suddenly a deep note roared from the instrument, followed quickly by a bunch of other random notes. Putting his hand to his chest, he looked over the piano at who had been pushing the keys. His fear disappeared and was replaced surprised amazement when he saw a pink hedgehog sitting there.

"Did I scare you?" Amy asked innocently, sounding calm but almost worried.

"Yeah." Miles admitted. No point in hiding the shame.

"I'm sorry." She stated. "I always wanted to play the piano."

Miles raised an eyebrow: that was not something he'd ever have expected her to say. Not only that, but he didn't understand how the hell she could have gotten here. Did she trek through the museum, the prison, and the labyrinth too? All by herself?

"Yeah, it's okay." Miles said. The little girl hopped off of the seat and walked past him, stopping and sitting at one of the small white circular tables.

"You came to find Sonic, right?" Amy asked serenely. "Well…have you?"

"No…that's why you're here too huh?" the fox said as he walked up to the table too and sat down across from her.

"Yeah. I thought he'd come here. He said he loved this place so much…he's here isn't he? Do you know where he might be? Please tell me, I'm tired of walking." Amy pleaded hopefully. Miles realized, if all this running around had made him physically exhausted—and it did—it must have been ten times worse for a little girl like her.

"I wish I knew…" the twin-tailed fox replied with a sigh. "How did you get to here anyway?"

"Um, I walked." Amy said as if it were plain obvious. Reaching into the bowl in the middle of the table, she grabbed a fresh peach out of it. A soft crunch emitted when she bit into the juicy fruit and continued talking with her mouth full. "It took me lots of time, but I finally made it here a few minutes ago."

"But…the bridge, it was destroyed…" Miles looked down at the floor.

"What?" Amy raised an eyebrow, giving him a skeptical look. When Miles didn't reply, she asked. "…Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah…" the fox looked back up to her green eyes. "How did you know Sonic was here, Amy?"

"He said it in his letter."

"Letter?" Miles asked, surprised. Had she gotten a letter too? "What letter?"

Amy began to dig through her dress pocket, eventually producing a piece of paper and holding it out in the blue-eyed fox's face. "Wanna read it?"

Reaching across the small table, Miles took the letter from her hand.

"Don't tell Rebecca, okay?" Amy whispered quickly.

"Rebecca?"

"She's our nurse. I took it from her locker."

Miles's blue eyes stared down upon Sonic's neat handwriting on the paper.

'**_My dearest Amy, _**

I'm leaving this letter with Rebecca to give to you after I'm gone. I'm far away now, in a quiet beautiful place. Please forgive me for not saying goodbye before I left. Be well, and don't be too hard on the sisters. And Amy, about Tails, I know you hate him because he doesn't visit me often anymore, but please give him a chance. I know he might be a little mean sometimes, and he doesn't like being seen in public, but underneath he's a really sweet guy.

Amy…I love you like you were my very own daughter. If things had worked out differently, I was hoping to adopt you. But I'm sorry, I can't now.

Happy 11th birthday, Amy. Promise me you'll grow strong and healthy.

Your best friend forever, Sonic'

A small squeaky noise was heard, and the fox looked up to see the pink hedgehog standing in front of the window, drawing a picture of a young kitten on the glass. Outside, he could still see the fogged up porch, and something about it serving as a background for her picture was really beautiful and relaxing. He couldn't really tell what it was though. Amy's drawing was actually pretty good, and something about that eased him.

"Amy…" Miles began curiously. "How old are you?"

"Um…I turned 11 a couplea' months ago." Amy said, giving him a smile and then going back to her drawing.

Miles looked back down at the letter, his eyes wide. "So…Sonic didn't really die three years ago…he really could be here…is this the 'quiet beautiful place' he was talking about?"

"Me and Sonic talked a lot about Sonic Hill." He heard the little girls voice say, not answering his question exactly. "He even showed me a buncha pictures. One was of this hotel, and I saw a few of you too. That's how I knew you were Tails. And I saw you at the Station Square hospital a few times too. Didn't you see me?"

"No…" the fox replied. "But maybe I just wasn't paying attention…or I forgot…"

The girl sighed. "He really really wanted to come back here. He loved this place lots. And he said you promised him you'd come back here with him someday. That's why I'm here. Maybe you'll get it more if you see the other letter."

"Other letter?" Miles asked quickly. Getting out of the chair, he asked. "What other letter?"

Amy reached back into her dress pocket and started digging around. "The one Sonic…huh?…oh no!!"

"What?" Miles asked. Amy looked at him with an extremely distressed look.

"I must've dropped it!" she cried, sounding like she was moments from freaking out. "I've got to find it!"

Suddenly turning and running, Amy ran past the fox towards the double doors. Miles's eyes followed her and he held his hand out as if to try and grab her. "Amy!"

-_SLAM!_

Chimes shook and shingled as the door slammed behind the little girl. The fox's ears lowered, and he looked back down at Sonic's second letter. "I don't understand…what really happened to you, Sonikku? Are you still alive? I thought you died three years ago, but…"

He trailed off, still confused as hell. They were the same questions that he'd been repeating since he'd gotten the first cryptic letter three days ago. How could he be alive? How did he get here? And, eventually, what had happened to this town?

Sighing, Miles looked around the room. He was starving, and after all this he finally realized he really desperately needed to go to the bathroom too. Actually, he was kind of surprised he didn't piss himself somewhere along the way here. Or maybe he did…he didn't remember. Looking around some more, he decided first he'd head to the bathroom, then get something to eat—anything. And _then_ begin searching for that key…


	26. Approaching Resolution

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 26: Approaching Resolution

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A soft squeak emitted when the bathroom stall door closed behind the light-furred fox. He felt much better now – the wetness in his fur was dampening by the minute, and he'd finally eaten something. Nine peaches were on the table he and Amy had sat at moments earlier. _Were_ is the key word there; now they rested within his slightly less knotting belly.

On one of the restaurants tables, folded in a napkin, was a key with a silver luster to it. A small plastic fish was connected to the key by a thin chain. Miles grasped onto the key, figuring it'd be useful like they tended to be in the future, and put it in his pocket. As he left the Lakeshore Restaurant, he examined Sonic's letter and photograph again, regaining the constantly lowering and rising motivation to go on. Perhaps he was speaking too soon, but there didn't seem to be any monsters in the hotel at all. It looked exactly the same as it did when he left it years ago, except coated in a few layers of dust, and of course, abandonment.

The hotel's lobby, like everything else, looked just as big and beautiful as he remembered it. Velvet red carpets led from the front doors of the hotel to the long staircase, which led up to the second floor and balcony. The two sets of double doors that lead into the back T corridor he'd just came out of were on both sides of the stairs, giving the guests plenty of convenience. In the middle of the lobby was an old lonely wooden desk, where the innocent tourists would check in. Sonic and he had checked in here, just like everyone else. It was very pleasant; no one really paid much more attention to them than maybe a glance, and that's just the way they liked it. That way all they had to worry about was people they wanted to worry about. Miles wished life in general was more like that.

Miles smiled again, getting pleasantly lost in memories of the past. It was the best vacation ever…probably one of the best consistent moments in his entire life. Running around during the day, going out to eat, maybe see a movie or something when they were bored. And at nights, the most wonderful nights in his life, they'd go out to dinner and party or whatever else the town had to offer, until they got back to their room, 312, and made the best love they'd ever had. The young fox couldn't help but blush, even though there was no one there to witness his slight arousal at the thought.

He missed those days…

Sighing, Miles tried to get back to business. It was so calm and quiet here, and not in a disturbing sort of way like everywhere else. Now he finally had a lot of time to think without having to worry about a monster being around every corner. So far, he hadn't seen any monsters or blood or anything out of the ordinary in the place, and that eased him too. It was like the hotel was a safe haven.

Empty folders lay on the check-in desk. There was a brochure in the middle, which the fox picked up and read just for the hell of it.

'**Welcome to Sonic Hill! **

Sonic Hill, a quiet little lakeside resort town. We're happy to have you. Take some time out of your busy schedules and enjoy a nice restful vacation here. Row after row of quaint old houses, a gorgeous mountain landscape, and a lake which shows different sides of its beauty with the passing of the day, from sunrise to late afternoons and sunset. Sonic Hill will move you and fill you with a feeling of deep peace. Your time here will be pleasant and your memories will last forever.'

"Heh, sure will…" Miles muttered, taking off one of his gloves and rubbing his sore eyes.

Putting the brochure back down to rest on the desk, he turned around and walked up the steps to the second floor. He'd already taken the key to Room 312 out of the key box in the reception room, along with a strange emerald green key similar to the one he had found in the hospital, and there was no need to walk out the front doors. The front doors of the hotel faced North Sonic Hill, where the larger half of town was. The hotel was on the outskirts of that area, hugging the lake alongside the amusement park, the lighthouse, and a few other things. He had little interest in going anywhere else though, since the only thing he wanted was somewhere in this building.

The lobby's second floor balcony contained two doors which went to their respective sides of the hotel, and a large clean window, which would have given a perfect view of the lake had it not been coated in thick fog.

He tried the east door first, which should lead into the Employee's Only area. And if not that, there should be a stairway or elevator or something in it that does. It wasn't listed on the map, so he wasn't exactly sure. Unfortunately, the door was locked, so he had no choice but to check out the west side of the hotel instead.

A small T-shaped hall, with the entrance to the 2nd Floor West Guests Corridor at the end of it. Miles had never gone there, and he doubted many if any of the doors in it were unlocked, so he decided to check out that this corridor had to offer first. The four doors at the bottom of the T lead into the lounge, the cloakroom, the reading room, and some unnamed square room in the back. Only the reading room and cloakroom doors opened though.

The only thing of interest in the reading room was a pair of headphones on the desk next to the window, where a discreet noise was coming from. Miles walked up to the desk and sat down in front of it, picking up the headphones and placing them awkwardly over his large fox ears.

There was a voice, but not a very familiar one, along with the polar opposite – his own slightly high pitched one. It wasn't something he'd expected to hear, but it really was him…

"_…Sonic's going to die!? You…you must be joking…_" his voice said, extreme devastation in his tone.

"_I'm very sorry._" He heard the other male's voice respond. It sounded boring, monotone, and flat. Must be a doctor. His own voice proved his theory correct a moment later.

"_B-but you're a doctor! It's your job to heal people! How can you just let him die!?_"

Miles looked out the window sadly, seeing only white fog staring back at him. But swimming in the fog, a transparent hospital bed appeared to float not too far outside the hotel…

"_Please calm down. As his doctor, I promise I'll do what I can. But…there's no effective treatment for his condition as of yet…_"

A long pause, followed by: "_How long does he have?_"

"_I'm afraid that I'm not sure._" The doctor said. "_Three years at most…possibly six months…it's impossible to say without certainty…_"

-_Click._

The headphones shut off.

"Three years…" Miles whispered confusedly, pulling off the headphones and staring at the empty space outside where the transparent bed appeared. "He…he was _sick _for three years…?"

But they'd taken a vacation in this town only four years ago…

"T-that doesn't make any sense…" the fox slowly rose to his feet, flabbergasted at the very thought.

He was extremely confused now. He remembered, Sonic died three years ago, not a few months ago. That's how it happened, no way that could be wrong…Perhaps Sonic had only lived for six months like the doctor said he might…he didn't remember. It all just seemed like one big blur of days dragging by. Each day he'd wake up alone, no one to talk to, no one to be there for him…and the same case was for his blue hedgehog who stayed in the Station Square hospital for all that time. It was a very miserable period of time…but he knew the time after Sonic's death was a lot more miserable and a _lot _longer. Depression clouded him. It was definitely over six months of sickness before the hedgehog died, maybe a year…it was hard to say.

'_That doesn't matter._' He reminded himself. '_Sonic's here…he has to be…maybe when I find him, he'll explain everything…yeah…_'

He really hoped so.

There were many suits, jackets, vests, and other various articles of clothing hanging by hangers in the cloakroom. Miles thoroughly searched every pocket, hoping to find something of use. Within one jacket was the fourth key he'd found since he entered the hotel: the key to room 204.

It was a very short walk to the 2nd floor west guest corridor, but all the doors within it were locked, as he feared. 204 was around the back of the corridor though, so he unlocked it with his new key and entered the decently large hotel room. On the bed was a briefcase, which he quickly examined to find that it was locked with a code combo. Shaking it a bit, he heard something metallic move inside and guessed that it might be something useful. So, keeping the case with him, he looked around the rest of the place.

There was a large hole in the wall—the first abnormal looking thing he'd seen in the hotel so far. It looked like someone created it with a chainsaw or something. The hole led right into room 202. So he went through it—in a similar fashion to how he walked through the large hole in that clock room in the apartments a long time ago.

Photographs covered the king sized bed of this room, each containing a place in Sonic Hill within it. Most of the people who checked into the hotel were tourists, of course. Residents of the town mostly lived in either the apartments or Old Sonic Hill, the neighborhood only a few blocks away from the hotel. So the fox assumed that it had been left behind on accident, just like that videotape he and Sonic had made.

One photograph stood out from the rest though; a photo of the hotel, which looked like it had been taken from the dock. In the top right corner was a bunch of black ink scribbling something out of view in the sky. Rubbing the tip of his white glove over it wasn't washing it away, so if he wanted to see what was written underneath it he'd need some ink thinner.

Underneath that photo was something even stranger. It was taken in the same spot as the last one, depicting the hotel from a nice angle, except this time the whole building was on fire. Flames swallowed the wooden roof as angry wind blew into it, making them grow stronger. There was something written on the top of the photo in black marker.

'**_Lakeview Hotel Fire_**'

"What?" Miles stuttered. "A fire…?"

What a scary thought. It looked like it was in pretty damn good condition currently if it really did catch fire…

He was so bewildered by the photograph that he almost didn't notice the employee's only corridor key before leaving the room. It lay out of place on the desk, just waiting to be used again, and its wish was granted. Miles grabbed the key and headed out of the 2nd floor west guest corridor, sauntering back to the east side.

If he remembered correctly, the employee's only area was just a complex series of short hallways and small rooms, with an elevator and a stairway that went to all three floors. He had known about this because Sonic and he had snuck into the place one night for fun. They almost got caught—and they sure would have been in trouble if they did—but they managed to escape from the security guys by jogging up the stairs as quietly as they could and heading back to room 312. It was fun. Stupid, but fun.

Unlocking the east door, he walked in the corridor. It was just as he remembered it. It was even still dark, although this time it was dark because there were no lights or windows, not because it was nighttime. That didn't matter, the elevator was the only thing he was really interested in. It should lead down into the first floor employee's area, where the office was located. If anywhere, the key that unlocks the barred doors on the third floor would be in there. Entering the employee's elevator, Miles feared for a second that he was too heavy for the mechanism to support his weight and would have to drop off some of his items. He only weighed one-hundred-something pounds, a decent weight for a furry his height, but all the weapons, ammo, and other random stuff that was loading his body down, must have added at least twenty more pounds.

On a second thought, he realized that the elevator could probably support far more weight than that. And it could, so he felt relieved during his decent into the dark first floor employee's area. Silently, he wondered if the shotgun would ever be of use to him anymore – ever since he'd ran out of ammo in the museum it had been nothing but useless weight, and the rifle was proving to be useless too, although he was too worried something bad would happen once he let go of them to actually leave the items behind. The katana fastened around his waist was surprisingly heavy too, and he wasn't even sure how to use it properly without getting hurt. It was better to have some sort of backup weapon if he ran out of ammo though, so he kept that too.

Turning the flashlight back on, he searched the place for any door that might lead into the office. It only took him a few seconds before he found it across from the main stairway. The door opened easily, so he stepped in, shining the flashlight across the room.

Checking all the drawers, he sadly came up with no key. It was basically empty of just about everything. Except on the wall, where a note was posted. Taking a closer look, Miles read what was written down.

'**_NOTICE: Hell Is Coming _**

8, 5, 1, 2, 1, 2'

Another creepy message, but the numbers might be useful. Desirously, he tried the numbers on the combination lock on the briefcase, but was disappointed to find it didn't work.

"Great…" he said, his fur instinctively jumping a bit when his voice broke the silence. Disappointed beyond belief, he exited the office and decided to check out the rest of the employee's corridor, since he didn't have any other choice. It didn't take long, because one of the only other unlocked doors there was the door to the employee's lounge.

There was a fish tank in the back of the room, the only thing emitting any form of light other than his own flashlight. It quickly drew in his interest, so Miles stepped up to it. No fish were inside of it, but he noticed there was what looked like another key on the rock-covered bottom of the tank, but in order to get it he'd have to either break the glass or unlock the top part of it. Pulling out the fish key he'd gotten from the restaurant, Miles was pleased to see it worked and picked off the metallic top, reaching in and drenching his dirty gloved hand and arm. Grasping onto the key, he pulled it out of the tank and wiped most of the water off with his still slightly damp fur on his chest. The words 'Bar' were written on the top of the key, so he knew where to go. In the hotel's basement was a bar called "Venus Tears", if he recalled. Strange name, but it was a decent place.

And so, Miles took the employee's elevator down into the basement. As expected, it was nearly impossible to see down there, but with the flashlight it was easy enough. He would have been a bit creeped out if he had to walk down the dark dingy place a week ago, but having seen and experienced what he'd been so far, it hardly seemed worth being afraid of. Fearlessly, Miles moved down the cement corridor until he reached the Venus Tears door. He unlocked it with the new key and discarded it, moving into the bar and checking out what was inside.

Sonic and he had gotten a bit wasted there once. Not exceptionally, but by the end of that night Miles had felt pretty lucky that their room had only been three floors up rather than a car drive away. If things weren't like that their night could have been disasterous, thankfully all went well. Hell, they went better than well. That was one of their more adventurous nights here…

Now, it looked just as abandoned as every other place in the town.

Bottles lined the walls, most of them full but covered in dust. A few chairs were turned as if someone had just left the place, giving the room a lonelier feel to it. A dim light bulb on the ceiling illuminated it just enough for the fox to spot a safe behind the main part of the bar. He walked around the main wooden pub, thinking about how Sonic had laid his head right there while laughing stupidly at nothing in particular, years ago. Smirking a little at the thought, he looked at the combination lock on it and figured—hoped—that this was where that number written upstairs was meant to be put in.

Placing his fingers on the knob, he put in the combo: 8, 5, 1, 2, 1, 2, and smiled when he heard that reassuring click. Opening the metal safe, he saw nothing but a bottle of ink thinner inside. Very strange, but it was something he'd wanted earlier, so he couldn't complain. He was starting to become very nonchalant about strange stuff like that.

Taking the ink thinner, he pulled out the photograph of the hotel and placed it on the counter. He painted the liquid across the ink, pleased to see it slowly disappear. Underneath the now invisible blackness were the numbers '0, 1, 5, 9, 8'.

'_This better be the code for the suitcase…_' he thought to himself. He was really tired of aimlessly looking for things like this. It was tedious and annoying, and all he really wanted was to find that one key…

Turning the numbers on the briefcase, Miles heard a click when he put the code in and opened it up. Inside was a single gray key. A huge grin appeared on his face when he spotted 'Third Floor Gate' written sideways on its surface.

"Yes!" he shouted with glee, immediately turning and sprinting out of the bar.

That sprint didn't end until he reached the T-shaped corridor behind the lobby again. Hope gleamed in his eyes as he ran to the west stairway and charged up the steps to rescue his love. Though by now he was panting heavily, he knew he couldn't stop even if he wanted to—and he definitely didn't want to.

Reaching the third floor gate, he unlocked it with the key and pushed through it, crossing the short distance between the gate and the door with the numbers 312 plated on it in gold. The gate clinked against the wall behind him.

Stopping at the door, he felt butterflies flutter in his stomach along with the remains of the peaches from earlier. He'd come so far, done so much, and now he was finally here. This was what he, and Sonic, had been waiting for…

'_Sonikku…I'm finally here…_'

With a deep shaky breath, Miles unlocked the door with the 312 key, and opened it.


	27. Truth

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Chapter 27: Truth

------

"Sonikku…?"

His heart sank, hell, it drowned. It must have been a joke. A sick, disgusting joke some teens played on him just so he can waste his time, life, and sanity. All his hopes and dreams came crashing down once again. He had known it was too much to expect. Sonic was dead, he knew that. He _knew_ that. When you're dead, you're dead. That single thought was always screaming at him the whole time…

Room 312 was empty.

Sonic wasn't there.

He shed no tears as his final spark of hope blew out. It wasn't just a feeling of sadness and disappointment he felt, it was far beyond that…He lost everything. And along that horrible road to emptiness, he'd lost more and more…

There was videotape on the bed.

'_What's this…?_'

Extreme feelings of nostalgia overcame him. Out of everything in the town, this place was the most intact and the same as three years ago. Not even any dust had collected or anything – it was as if no one and no thing had entered the room since he and Sonic had left it so long ago…

Completely drained and out of hope, Miles stumbled over to the king-sized bed, remembering how much sweet love they had made on that spot. He looked at the videotape grimly. Shadow had mentioned it…but it was only his and Sonic's memories. He wasn't thinking of how Shadow could have known now though, he was wondering what the contents of the tape would be. After a few moments, he pretty much remembered; it was a bunch of recordings and memories of their great vacation here. The best memories the two ever experienced together…

But watching it would only bring grief for the fox, he knew. He'd be devastated to see his deceased love, Sonikku, moving and walking on a TV screen. It would seem so real…but it wasn't. Just a recorded memory, nothing more.

Picking the tape up, he decided to watch it anyway, right here. Just to see what it was before he left…or…whatever he would do next. He knew he truly had no reason to live now, and most certainly felt the grim empty grayness of the moment, so there didn't seem like there could be much of a future ahead for him at all. Sighing, he slipped the tape into the VCR below the decent sized TV across from the bed. Then, as it began to start up, he pulled up a chair and sat down a few feet in front of the TV, staring at its glassy screen.

------

All the color that the camera recorded in was black and white, and it was a bit shaky too. It wasn't the newest and best camera nowadays, but it was good enough for them. The view focused on Sonic, who stood near the window overlooking the lake. It was the same window that was only a few yards away from where the young fox sat right now. Rather than dawning his usual attire, Sonic wore a clean white bathrobe and some light blue slippers. He turned his beautiful emerald green eyes—which looked grayer than green since the camera didn't work that well—towards the screen and flashed one of his trademark smirks.

"Are you taping again, Tails? C'mon…" the blue hedgehog said playfully as he waved his hand at the camera and chuckled lightly. Turning, he looked back outside and placed his ungloved hands on the windowsill. After staring at the beautiful Lake Toluca for a moment, he spoke distantly: "I dunno why, but I really love it here. It's so peaceful…"

Sonic turned a third time and looked back at the camera with that benign smile back on his face, leaning his back to the window.

"Ya know what I heard? This whole area used to be a sacred place. I can see why…" he chuckled again, but his smile quickly turned into a small frown. "It's too bad we have to leave…"

Letting go of the windowsill, he took a few steps closer to the camera and held his hands together. "Please promise me you'll take me here again someday, Tails-chan…"

Suddenly, the hedgehog bent down and coughed harshly; a dry, throaty cough. The camera shook a bit, and then got extremely staticy, until the hedgehog disappeared between the wall of white and gray.

A different image appeared through the static now. It could barely be seen through the snow, but it looked a figure lying on a bed. A second figure walked into view. Its mouth moved, but no audio except for the loud white noise could be heard. After about ten seconds of talking, the second figured grabbed the pillow behind the others head, pulled it into its arms, and stuffed it into the first figure's face. A split second later, the camera went back to the shot of Sonic leaning forward and letting out that same dry, throaty cough.

-Miles's eyes widened-

Then it immediately went back to the two figures. The second one kept the pillow on the first's face while the first desperately tried to pull its hand out of the way. It couldn't be seen or heard, but the first figure was letting out muffled and horrified screams and cries for the second to stop. This only lasted a few seconds before it went back to the shot of Sonic coughing, repeating the two scenes over and over again.

Sonic coughed.

-(nonono)-

Then back to the other shot: The second figure continued smothering the other, not letting go as the first continued to try and desperately pull the pillow off. But its efforts were futile.

Sonic coughed.

The first figure's arm stopped moving as much, starting to slow down as the second kept its relentless attack. It was suffocating…

Sonic coughed.

-(!!!NONONO!!!)-

The first figure still attempted to weakly stop its attacker. But it was too late; its systems were shutting down slow and painfully. Eventually, the first figure's thin tired arm fell to its side, dead.

Sonic coughed.

Blood oozed out of the first figure's mouth, sinking into the once clean white bed sheets as the pillow was placed back where it belonged. After a long pause, the second figure slowly stood up and gently kissed the first one on the forehead.

Static.

------

Miles kept his shocked and devastated azure blue gaze on the staticy TV set. He felt the sting of warm wet tears forming under his eyes again.

"No…"

(_yes miles_)

(_its the truth_)

"No…" the fox repeated, as if to deny it. But he couldn't anymore. That thought, that single terrifying thought had always been somewhere in the darkest corners of his mind, but he'd always dismissed it as a crazy and senseless idea. He never remembered exactly what happened over the past three years - it was all just an ugly gray blur of empty emotions and scarred memories.

And now he knew why.

'_No no no…it can't be true…_'

But it was. It was all true. All along.

All his memories of the past, those memories he'd long since repressed and forgotten, came flooding back.

"Sonic…"

Tears flowed like rivers down his cheeks. Miles covered his face with his hands and looked down to the floor; he couldn't deny it anymore.

"I killed him…"


	28. Remains of the Judgement

**Sonic Hill 2: DX**

**Chapter 28: Remains of the Judgement**

------

Room 312 was coated in a light gray tint, just like many of the hotels faded out but still colorful corridors. Fog still clouded the outside world; the source of the interesting and depressing effects it had on the building's interior. The mood it set for the few within its corridors was perfect for how the fox had felt, and had been feeling.

(_now you know everything you know why_)

'_No…_'

(_dont deny it anymore you know its the truth you knew all along but you couldnt believe it_)

'_No…_'

(_so you blanked it out of your mind_)

'_No!_'

(_you murdered him you murdered him you murdered_)

"…Sonikku…"

'_I deserved all this…worse than this…_'

His dirty white gloves were soaked now, along with much of his white and orange furry face. His bushy wet tails lay limp on the sides of the chair, each missing just as much motivation to go on as he did. His head hurt again, feeling overloaded with what he'd just learned—

'_Learned?_' he wondered to himself. '_No…_remembered_…_realized_…I…Sonikku…_'

A noise emitted from his right, the sound of a door opening and closing, followed by tiny footsteps.

"Tails?" the voice of a little girl asked; Amy's voice.

The weary fox didn't respond, he couldn't. She'd come all this way and finally began to trust him…he couldn't tell all this to a little girl…

"So there you are, I've been looking everywhere for you!" the pink hedgehog said, flashing him a very short-lived smile. "I couldn't find the letter…"

Frowning, Amy looked away for a moment, not seeming to realize how devastated the fox looked. After a long silence, she finally asked. "…did _you _find it? Did you find Sonic? If not…let's get going already. Okay?"

The taller and older furry did not respond. Slightly worried, Amy pushed his shoulder.

"Okay?" she repeated, sounding just as worried as she felt.

"Sonic's gone." Miles stated, taking his teary-eyed face away from his paws and looking at the girl grimly. "He's dead."

Amy's jaw dropped; seemingly surprised he even said that. The feeling her innocent green eyes gave off was not a pleasant one for the fox to view, for it told him he had thrown some of his pain onto her too. She looked heartbroken.

"Liar!" she shouted, not sounding sure of herself. "Y-you're lying!"

Miles sniffled; wishing it really was a lie. "No…I'm not…"

"Sonic…" Amy stared down at the floor. "He…he died because he was sick…?"

"No." he shook his head, looking back at the now turned off television screen and biting his lip. Part of his face was twitching a little, signifying that he was trying not to break down crying again at what he needed to say next: "I killed him…"

Shamefully, he had hid his eyes from hers, so he couldn't see the horrified expression on her young face as her 11-year-old mind took in what he'd just said. Perhaps it was better that way…but hiding, running, and lying to and from himself was something he'd been doing for too long. A few seconds of silence passed—in which Amy was completely speechless—until the fox finally looked back to her again.

"I…"

"_You killer!!_" the little girl screamed, tears already flowing down her face just like his had. "Why'd you do it!? I want my Sonic back! Give him back to me!!"

Hard, for a little girl, she pushed his shoulder angrily. "I knew it! No wonder you never visited! You really didn't care about him, huh!? I _hate_ you Tails!" that shove then turned into a barrage of rapid but weak punches. Her little fist did little to hurt him physically, but emotionally it had probably scarred him forever. Each punch was filled with rage, hatred, and devastation. Something even people twice her age shouldn't have to experience in life.

"I hate you!! _I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you!!!_" she cried. Her array of punches ceased after one last uninspired attack. Looking back down at the floor, Amy spoke again, except only sadness could be picked up in her tone. "He was always waiting for you, Tails…why?…_why…?_"

"I'm sorry…" Miles whispered. There was nothing else he could say or do.

She took a step back, her face contracting into an extremely hateful and cold green gaze. With unsettling coldness, she barely whispered: "I was right about you…" And burst into tears. Turning, she charged out of the room, sobbing and crying loudly all the way out.

-_SLAM!_

"Amy…"

Miles felt stupid for not seeing any of the signs earlier. He had committed the crime, and so many things reminded him of that. Had he not closed his eyes and kept on thinking he was the hero of his own tragic lifetime, maybe…maybe things would have been different. He didn't know how. But that wasn't important anymore. He could no longer deny the truth from himself…

-_Bzzzt!_

Miles jumped when the radio suddenly went off. It hadn't so much as buzzed since he'd exited the labyrinth, and he practically forgot it was there in his side pack still. Pulling out, he wondered why it was buzzing again. There weren't any monsters in sight…

"—_Tails!_"

It was Sonic's voice again. Miles's jaw dropped and he gawked at the radio, shocked when he heard the hedgehog continue speaking. Except unlike the last two times, there was no longer and static.

"_Tails, where are you? Why'd you kill me? I'm waiting. I'm still waiting for you. Please come to me, I want to talk. I still love you…_"

"Sonikku…"

"_Do you hate me? Is that why you won't come?_"Sonic asked."_Please hurry! Are you lost? I'm near. I'm waiting nearby, Tails. Please. I want to see you Tails! Can't you hear me!? Tails!?…Tails!?…Tails!?…Tails!?_"

Sonic's cries ended when the radio shut off again, leaving Miles alone in the silence of Room 312.

"I…I don't understand…" Miles said, putting the radio back within the pack wrapped around his waste and zipping it up. "He's dead…I killed him; I saw him die…but…"

Staring at his null reflection in the black television screen, Miles wondered if maybe some of what the letter said really was true…

"You're still here waiting for me. Aren't you, Sonic…?" the stunned fox whispered to himself. "Waiting for me…" He stared at the door. "Sonikku…I've got to find him…"

Standing up, the blue-eyed kitsune felt a flash of confused hope somewhere within himself. It wasn't much…but it was still there. It wasn't over. Not yet. Shadow had said, long ago, that anything could happen in Sonic Hill. Perhaps that was true after all…Taking one last look at the tainted memories of the room 312, Miles exited via the entrance door.

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

That same dark, evil drone echoed throughout the hotel as the young fox stared at the remains of the hallway in shock. Just like the hospital, it had changed. The walls were coated in brown and ash, the rotten wood flooring cracked and creaked beneath his feet like they'd break any moment, and tiny droplets of cold water fell from the ceiling, dripping onto his furry scalp. Every noise sounded muted and distant, and everything looked and felt…felt so _tilted_, like the building wasn't built on flat ground. Basically, it looked like the whole place had been partially burned down, and these were just the remains of what used to be the beautiful place…

'_Is…is this the alternate Lakeview Hotel?_' he wondered to himself. '_Or…or is it the—_'

"_Muuuuaaaahhhh!!!_"

A loud horrible cry rung through his ears, and the dirty tired fox glanced to his left and almost jumped out of his fur when he saw what stood only about ten feet down the hall from him.

A third large, skinless gorilla. Its rheumy mouth seemed to grin maniacally as it let out another dark, breathless roar. In an instant, it was charging towards him.

"Shit!" Miles cried. He didn't have any shotgun or rifle shells, and using the handgun or katana would be suicide. So he did the only thing he could: He ran away. Ran Away. Ran Away. Ran Away. Ran Away. Ran Away.

Slamming the gate bars of the stairway he'd searched fruitlessly to find the key to into place, he fell backwards when the gorilla rammed right into them. The bars seemed to buckle as if they were to break any second from the monkey's charge. And a moment later, they did. The top and bottom of the iron bars snapped like twigs and made a terrifying plummet towards the small fox with the ape on top of them. Miles spun around and, in a blind panic, practically slid down every step. His feet hit the floor at the bottom of the stairs, and before he could even move any farther he felt the cold steep bars hit his back. Crying out in pain, he fell to the floor with the creature and gate on top of him.

He felt the gorillas sharp claws reaching through the now weak bars and onto his back, it's rheumy mouth snapping towards his neck. With a sudden shove, Miles hit the gorilla in the stomach through the bars with his elbow, and with all his might somehow pushed the gate—along with the monster—over. Scrambling to the door, he managed to run through it and shut it behind him a moment before the gorilla could get up and jump on him.

A loud thump was heard behind him once he shut the door, but nothing followed. Miles prayed that maybe it knocked itself out or something, but he didn't get a very decent amount of time to do that before he was forced into yet another fight for his life.

It looked just like the monster that had almost killed that batgirl in the labyrinth a long time ago, except a lot smaller. That did not change the obscene image they presented him though; both of the mating bodies within their backs pounded each other lustfully and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. The whole physical structure of the living mattresses didn't make sense, but that didn't stop them from moving in on the adrenaline-pumped fox. It's mating bodies let out a horrible mixed male and female scream and charged at him.

Miles grabbed for the door to his left—the door that should lead into the 2nd floor of the lobby, but it was locked tight. Looks like many of the unlocked doors had locked now, just like in the hospital. The blue-eyed one only had another moment to do something before the monster's quick charge would hit him. Sidestepping out of the way, he managed to dodge the attack just in time. Stupidly, the monster rammed headfirst into the door, letting out a low pained moan before it began to turn around again.

Breaking into a sprint, Miles ran around the corner of the T-shaped hall and stopped when he saw another mattress monster only a few feet ahead of him. Like it's twin, this one let out a roar and began to wobble towards him incredibly quickly. Instinctively, the fox broke into another sprint and dived towards the beast, landing on the floor in front of it and sliding across the wet and rotted wood.

Tiny splinters dug themselves into his chest, but the fact that the maneuver had saved him from another dive into the sea of pain more than made up for it. On second thought, he wondered if maybe he would have been better off getting pummeled to death by those things…

His chest now covered with a little gunk from the floor, the fox jumped to his feet and rushed through the door to the reading room once he'd cleared the monsters path. The reading room had undergone as much damage as the corridors – the walls were burnt and dead, and the remains of what used to be hundreds of books littered the floor and walls. Depressing gray light shined into the room from the fog outside. Unlike last time everything changed, it was still daytime in Sonic Hill. That is, if time even existed in the hopeless town at all.

On the desk—where the headphones had been earlier—was a box of shotgun shells; completely surprising the young fox as he laid eyes on it. He hadn't seen any since he'd left the hospital, but the weapon was still wedged between the sash-like belt around his torso and his back. Miles picked up the box, opening it to see seven shells inside. He pulled the weapon out from behind his back and reloaded the gun for the first time in ages, not really sure if he wanted to actually use it or not. Sonic's voice over the radio came back to his memory, and he remembered he was better off if he kept moving instead of considering the multiple uses of the defense weapon.

Grabbing the doors handle, Miles pushed it opened and jumped back into the hallway, aiming and opening fire before he even landed. The mattress monster in the corridor's three-way intersection let out an agonized roar as the bullets bombarded its male and female heads. It took a few steps back, trying to recover from the blast, but doing that only caused it to lose sight of its prey. The fox broke into a sprint, running through the small space in between the obscene beast's hulking body and the wall. He turned around the corner and ran through the only other unlocked door in the corridor – the one to the 2nd floor west guest's hall.

'_Jesus, this place is infested!_' the fox cried as he stared at the 200 hall.

Five straightjacket monsters and a few other mannequins littered the place, all spotting him as soon as he entered and turning his direction. Putting the shotgun away again, Miles pulled out the handgun and shot each of them down. By this point, these weak monsters were no more than just street cones, compared to the roadblocks of gorillas and mattress beasts he'd encountered so far. With a well-aimed bullet to each head, the corridor was now littered with corpses rather than it's usual slithery "life" forms.

While they were all dead now, the radio's static still had not ceased. Its constant screams had been continuing on and on since he'd left room 312, and he had the feeling it wouldn't be stopping soon. Disgusting mold covered the tilted walls, creating an even more intoxicating smell as the lonely adventurer ran down its creaky flooring. Hoping it would be unlocked like before, Miles's sweaty gloved hands wrapped around the knob to room 204 and turned.

The room looked different from before – the arrangement of the overturned furniture, and even the hole in the wall was gone. Stepping into the room, he closed the door behind him and noticed another door directly ahead of him with the words 207 written on it. Raising an eyebrow, he moved up to that door and opened it.

For a moment he thought he was imagining things—suffering from a major overdose of horrible delusions—but after blinking a few times he realized it was real: the corridor he had just exited was now in front of him. Miles glanced behind him to look at the 204 door he'd just came from and saw only ripped and cracked gray wallpaper.

'_…that doesn't matter, just go!_' his mind cried quickly.

The fox stepped forward into the 2nd floor west guest hall again—now entering via the room farthest from the halls entrance—and tried to decide which door to check next. Randomly, he chose the door to room 206, opening it and walking into another square room similar to the last one. A door labeled 201 was on the opposite end of the square as him, which he quickly opened back into the corridor he'd just exited – now on the complete opposite end of the hall than he was before.

Panic rising again, the two-tailed fox ran to room 206 and opened that into a third square hotel room. In the back of the room was the number 203. He opened that doorway back into the beginning of the corridor and nervously looked around, fearing that he might be stuck like this forever. He took the door to room 205, and that's when he saw a familiar looking place. On the left wall was a large hole, which lead into room 205 if he recalled. Turning around, he saw the number 204 written on the door he'd just entered…

Confused but still willing to go on, Miles walked through the hole and into the room where he'd found the Employee's Only key earlier on. The photos were still on the now broken bed, except now rather than having a picture of something in town on it, each photo had an autopsy-like shot of mutilated and mangled corpses of many different species of furry and human. Trying to ignore it, the fox looked around, spotting a very helpful set of rifle shells, conveniently wrapped in bandages on the desk. Counting them, he gave a weak smile when he found that there were fourteen shells in total, twice as much as he's had before. That meant two full loads of the weapon…that should be good enough. He picked them up, reloaded the rifle, and stored the rest of the shells in his side-pack.

The door, which should be numbered 205, was on the left wall now. But instead, the number 220 was there. Scared and aggravated, he opened that door into a completely new corridor all together – the 2nd floor east guest corridor.

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

The endless array of sounds: that strange distant tapping and clinking noise, the sound of the radio's constant static, and that creaky movement across the floorboards repeated on and on over and over again. This time though, another sound joined it: a loud shrieking roar.

The fox's eyes darted down corridor, catching a glimpse of yet another skinless gorilla right before it began its mad charge in his direction. In a flash, it was only a few feet away, but Miles moved just as fast, grabbing the shotgun out from behind his back and aiming it at the incoming beast a split-second before its claws would have reached him. Its flesh-piercing claws were torn away as its screaming body flew backwards, pumped full of shells. Not giving it a second to recover, he fired again. Tens of tiny holes opened up in its skinless chest and it flew backwards even more. Blood flowing out of it's torso, it flailed its arms and legs around frantically before slowly dying.

But it wasn't over yet. Another horrible roar bounced its way into the kitsunes ears. Rapidly he looked left and right, trying to find out where it came from. He saw it just in time – the fifth gorilla he'd run into since this all began was already in mid leap towards him. Miles saved his life for the millionth time; aiming the weapon up and firing at the monster now suspended in the air. The bulk of the ammo missed it, but a few hit bullseye. Its tiny yellow eyes exploded with goo, and a second later it was on the floor off balanced in front of the fox, clutching its now forever decimated eyeballs. It screamed in angered pain and blindly swung its free hand at the fox, trying to tear away at its enemy to the bitter end.

And that end was bitter indeed. Pumping the heavy weapon, the otherwise defenseless fox squeezed the trigger and unloaded a final blast of death at the lacerated monster. The upper region of its small skull blew off, spraying gore all over the walls and the flooring behind it. Covering his mouth, Miles turned away from the now past dead creature and walked around its fresh corpse. In an attempt to keep his mind off of what he had just done—what he'd been doing—he tried all the doors in the corridor to see if there was anything of use inside. All of them were locked, but there was something of interest on the door to room 212.

Thought it was hard to see through the splintered and burnt wood, there was a strange carving of an emerald around the lock, colored a gritty green. Only one idea came to mind, so the fox pulled out the emerald green key he'd found when he entered the hotel and slid it into its home – the lock. With a turn and a click, the door was accessible.

The interior of the room was much different from that of the other hotel rooms – rather than having the usual attire but deformed and rotten, there was absolutely nothing in the room. That is, except for a single shopping cart that stood at the rooms center, wrapped in web-like chains. A soft yellow-ish aura supplied the dark square with a small amount of light.

Déjà vu of when he'd found the handgun in the shopping cart in the beginning arose, and Miles couldn't help but check it out. While the chains were strangely wrapped around it, they weren't tight enough to block him entirely from what was inside. Pushing through a few of the metal links, the fox reached sightlessly into the cart and grasped onto a large smooth object. A struggle through the chains later, he produced a large yellow emerald.

"That's the seventh one…" he whispered. "Jeez, what's up with these things?" Opening the carrying bag, he put the emerald in, noticing something very strange but not new.

The two emeralds he'd collected since he'd entered the museum were gone.

"These ones too…?"

Perhaps it was useless…but he didn't like the idea of leaving the emerald behind. While it might disappear like the others did, at least he knew he'd picked up everything of interest on his way back to the hotel's lobby, just in case. Putting the emerald in the stuffed carrying bag, he exited the room and went back into the 2nd floor east corridor.

There was only one way to go – and it seemed like the only real way to get back into the hotel's lobby. If he took the elevator down into the first floor, he had two different ways of getting into the lobby. He could either take the door that went into the T-shaped corridor by the Lakeshore Restaurant, or—in case that door was locked—take that other door in the employee's only corridor that went outside. If he went outside, he could just simply walk around the hotel and reenter through the front doors.

'_So that's the plan…_' he thought to himself, knowing very well that it wasn't a very fool proof one. '_Even if it works…I don't know where Sonic really is…_'

(_sonikku_)

Shaking his head, he tried to hold bag the sudden urge to scream and sob once more. If he could do that, maybe…maybe it'd be easier…

The compact elevator was just as claustrophobic as before, and it contained the first wrench in his new war plan. The 1st floor button on the panel was missing, entirely. Only a small hole remained, meaning he couldn't enter the floor that easily. But a new idea arose – if he took the elevator into the basement and took the stairway from the basement to the first floor…that should work.

Whirring softly, the elevator slowly descended into the deepest section of the Lakeview Hotel. With a bing noise, the doors opened, and a huge wave of water came crashing into it, sending the fox reeling into the back of the small place. For a moment, his head fully went under, sending mental waves of panic through him. But once he got back to his feet, he realized that the level of the ice-cold liquid only reached about the height of his chin.

Like on the third floor, the ceiling dripped with more and more water as if it were raining. The uncomfortableness that it had given him since the place changed was nothing compared to now – this was even worse than in the labyrinth. Was the whole basement flooded like this? If it were, that would make getting across it to the other side a bit harder, but not impossible…

Slowly, the miserable fox waded through the cold water, feeling cans, bottles, and other random things float and drift past his soaking body. In an instant, he felt something land on him hard and fully fell under again. Still below the oxygen-filled surface, he spun around, the water stinging his eyes but not hiding the large black thing that was only a few feet behind him.

Gurgling, he raised his head back up to the surface, only getting a breath of air for another second before the creature rammed into him again. He jumped up and got another breath of air, shaking his furry head and splattering droplets over the already moist black walls. He realized what it was – a mattress monster was in the flooded corridor with him.

Disgusted and more than a little afraid, Miles turned around and did a quick dog paddle through the water, knowing that the shotgun wouldn't work underwater like this. The twin-headed beast let out a gurgled roar, drowning itself in its pathetic attempt to charge after him. Miles reached the middle of the corridor, where the door to the Venus Tears Bar was. He reached around for the handle, eventually finding it and turning. The door practically tore itself open as more water from the other side flooded the corridor even more. Miles had to hold on tight not to get swept away and back into the monster's grasp – if it was still alive that is. The water level now had reached his wet furry muzzle, and the poor fox had a much harder time catching his breath now.

After a few pants, he continued moving into the bar. Looks like Venus really had shed some tears, because the bar fared no better than the corridor. Closing his eyes, with his need to oxygen already beginning to grow, he dove under and swam through the bar. Broken bottles littered the room, some hitting and cutting his face as he swam through, but none of them were anywhere near fatal. That is, until what felt like a knife or something dragged across his leg. A few bits of blood attempted to escape from his aching body, but they were quickly pushed away when water flooded their place. Like it stung his eyes, it stung his leg. But still, it was nothing fatal, and he hoped it never would be.

He pushed through the opened door that went into the kitchen, half swimming half wading through it until he reached the door in the back. Brushing a thin floating pan out of the way, Miles tried to push the door open, then pull, but it didn't work. It would have opened out in the corridor, so there must be another river's worth of liquid behind it pushing it closed.

'_Ugh, fuck._' He thought with distress. '_This can't be a dead end…_'

An idea quickly came to mind. Unsheathing the katana he'd gotten from Eggman, he clumsily tried to stab it into the rotting wood. At first the swords strange weight only threw him off balance and dragged itself down to the floor, but after a few tried he managed to get a firm stab. Very slowly, he carved a square hole just big enough for him and his items to fit through. It took about ten minutes of concentration, but it worked, to his thankfulness. A few minutes after that he finally managed to put the sword back in its sheath and placed his hands on the jagged edges of the wood. A few splinters cut through his dirty wet gloves and into his thin fingers, but he tried and successfully ignored it for the most part.

No pain no gain. With a pull, he managed to crawl into the next water-filled corridor…


	29. Stairs of Fire

**Sonic Hill 2: DX **

**Chapter 29: Stairs of Fire**

------

The wet door slowly closed behind him as Miles entered the employee stairway. It had only been a short "swim" from the kitchen down the corridor to here, and it was good to finally step out of the murky and cold water and onto somewhat dry ground again. All he had to do now was take the wooden steps up to the first floor and go on from there.

'—_Weren't the stairs made out of metal before?_' he thought for a moment.

Seeing a stairway like this made out of wood looked very awkward, but it wasn't something important as far as he was concerned. Stairs are stairs, and these would get him to where he wanted to go. He slowly and tiredly went up the stairs, changing direction at the turnaround and going up to where the first floor door was. To his shocked disappointment, it wasn't there.

'_Erg…_'

But he did smell something.

Something burning.

'_What the…_' His eyes peered up at the spiraling stairway above, and they almost bulged out of their sockets in response to what he saw. '_Oh my god…_'

Redness blocked his view of the rest of the place completely; a redness that he realized was a raging fire. Flames covered the steps that led up and up into the hotel, consuming everything they could touch. The whole _stairway_ was on fire; not just a small one but a huge blazing one that didn't look like it'd end anytime soon.

And there was nowhere else to go. The tired, weary fox slowly stalked up the stairs. Even though it was burning, not enough had caught flame yet to completely block an ascent by someone such as himself. But they did get bigger and bigger the farther he went up. And they did go up, very very far. Each step seemed like an eternity, each and every one feeling like it would be his last, for it sapped so much of the evanescent strength from his scratched up legs. He was incredibly exhausted from what he'd been doing for the past two days. Four days ago he would have never even imagined being able to get this far and still stand upright, both physically and mentally.

His whole body felt like one giant bruise, the pain now mostly focused from his legs to his rear. But he continued moving up the flaming stairs – he still had to find out what purpose he had to serve before he could leave, or better yet, die.

The hard wood creaked beneath his feet, apparently not able to take the abuse from his weight and the flames joined together much longer. But that particular step had been given mercy – the fox only stayed on it for about a second before moving on to the steps above it.

As he reached another turn around, he halted when he spotted something standing amidst the flames on the flat part of the stairway. He moved forward a bit and squinted; the figure standing not too far away came into focus.

"_…Rouge!?_"

His jaw dropped. The batgirl stood, flames surrounding her but not one touching, starring up at a strange portrait hung up on the charred wall. The painting looked the same as that photograph he'd given her of her family, except the paint around every family member except the young female bat in it was smeared, leaving only the girl alone in the world of focus. Underneath that painting was the corpse of a young male bat, wrapped in blue carpeting. From what Miles could see—and that wasn't very much—the body had been charred and burned to death long ago…

Her ears perked up.

Quickly, Rouge the Bat turned around and stared into Miles's tired blue eyes, a look of shock on her equally if not more tired ones.

"Momma…?" Rouge asked innocently. A smile formed on her lips, a happy smile; not one he'd seen from her before. "_Momma!_ I was looking for you!"

'_What?_' Miles wondered silently. The bat stared at him happily with a very dazed and drunk look on her face. She thoughtlessly walked through the flames, somehow managing not to step into any of them by pure luck. A few just barely kissed her boots, but she didn't seem to pay any attention to that. The fox stepped back, trying not to burn himself in the process.

Rouge looked down at the old wooden floor. The fire created a strange illumination on her pale face – dark shadows waved and loomed under her baggy grim eyes.

"Now you're the only one left…" she said to herself serenely, almost too quietly for the male to hear. "Maybe then…maybe then I can rest…"

She looked back up at him and smiled again, her dulled eyes seemed to almost look _through_ him rather than directly towards him. Miles took another step back, his foot landing on a step on the other set of stairs and almost causing him to lose his balance as she continued walking towards him.

"Momma?" the large-bosomed batgirl asked, her expression changing from happy to worried and distressed. Still, she moved closer to him. "Momma why are you running away?"

Her right hand placed itself onto the fox's cheek, feeling his furry face for a moment until it slowly guided itself down to his shoulders in wonder. Her left hand joined in, and in unison they moved back up his face, touching lightly under his eyes. Miles felt really uncomfortable already, not understanding what the hell the strange girl was doing, but did nothing for fear of hurting her. After she repeated this a second time, she quickly drew her hands back and let out a small gasp, as if she had seen a monster.

"Y-you're not momma!" she cried. It was her turn to take a few steps back now, her eyes wide with fear. That fear soon turned back into shock and sadness again. She looked down at the floor shamefully. "It's you……I…I'm sorry…"

"Rouge…no…" Miles spoke, realizing what she must be thinking. Naturally, he held his hand out as if to try and comfort her.

She finally gave him a real _look_, like she was really speaking to him rather than to herself. Her voice sounded distant and muted against the blazing fire.

"Thank you for saving me earlier…" she said, her smile long gone. "But…I wish you hadn't. Even momma said it; I _deserved_ what happened."

"No way, Rouge." Miles said sympathetically. "That's wrong…"

He extended his arm further as if to pat her shoulder comfortingly, but she recoiled and held her own hand out to his face to stop his gesture. "No, don't pity me. I'm not worth it."

"But…"

"Unless…" she looked back at the floor, hiding her pained eyes from him. She seemed to contemplate something for a long moment, and then looked back up to him, her tone of voice changing. "Unless you think you can save me…"

It was then she did something he really didn't expect her to do. Coming closer to him, the bat grasped his arm with one hand and placed her left one on his cheek gently, staring into his red-rimmed azure-blue eyes. "Miles, will you love me? Hold me? Take care of me? Heal all my pain? Never leave my side?" she asked pleadingly.

The fox bit his lip. How the hell was he supposed to respond to _that_? He wasn't interested in females…but he didn't want her to suffer anymore than she already did. Something deep inside his heart told him she had been suffering equally if not even more than he had, in this horrible town of Sonic Hill. And for that, he felt truly and deeply sorry for her.

No, he couldn't love her…but the look in her turquoise eyes made him almost _want_ to. To love her, to help her, to protect her…but he couldn't betray Sonic either…

He didn't know what to do. And he never even realized how long it had taken him to respond before it was too late.

"That's what I thought." Rouge said with disappointed understanding, breaking the young fox from his reverie. Taking her hand off his face, she held it out in front of her as if asking him for something. And she did, a second later: "Miles, give me back my knife."

"N-no." the fox stated sternly, shaking his head. He couldn't let her do that. "I…I won't."

"Saving it for yourself?" she asked. It wasn't a joke, but a grin seemed to form on her ashen face.

"No…" Miles felt far more unsure of himself than he would have liked. "I'd never kill myself…"

-_CRASH!_

A large flaming support beam fell from above, smashing into the ground in between the two furries. Miles jumped backwards and just barely managed to stop himself from tripping over and rolling down the stairs to his death, but Rouge did little more than take a few steps away from it before it landed. The support beam covered most of the flat part of the stairway, separating them from each other. Miles was left on the bulk of the flat area, while Rouge stood on the other side, in front of the flaming steps that led higher and higher into the sky. After realizing he was still in one piece, the fox looked ahead to see the bat's dark eyes staring at him from across the flames.

"I never meant for it to happen like this…" Rouge said, looking like she was about to break down any moment. "But he never stopped hurting me…_never_…" She placed her two hands over her crotch and looked down at the flaming beam. From where she stood, Miles could see that her mascara was smeared and washed away with tears, revealing the countless scars and cuts on her dirty, pretty face. While they may have partially healed physically, he knew, they would never heal mentally.

"I'm sorry Rouge…" Miles said sadly. "It's not right what your father did to you…"

"It's too late now," she said tiredly. "I thought maybe I had a chance. But I was wrong. I don't deserve one…I killed them…_all of them!!_" the end of the sentence was a scream, followed by endless sobs and tears that flowed freely down her stained cheeks. As she broke down, Miles felt that if the beam hadn't separated them he would hold her and hug her tight right there. But she was right—he knew that too—it was too late.

"I burned the house down after I killed him…I didn't know my brother and momma would get home so soon though…it was an accident." Wrapping her arms around her scarred sleeveless shoulders, she continued. "But I…I _wanted_ to do it, didn't I? I killed them all…I…"

"Rouge…"

"I understand." The girl gulped, her scarred face trembling slightly. Her moist eyeliner created black teardrops to contrast with her clear ones. "That letter was made so I would be punished. I knew it wasn't real—_none_ of this is real, not to all of us anyway—but it all makes sense to me now. This is what I deserve."

"But…"

Hopelessly, Rouge turned around and started slowly walking up the steps. Another chunk of wood fell from above to the floor next to the other furry; the flames around them were getting even more furious by the minute.

"It's hot as hell in here…" Miles muttered to himself, wiping sweat from his brow.

Rouge suddenly stopped as if someone had pointed a gun to her back, and turned around. A few drops of sorrow flung off of her cheek and into the fire in the process, not making any effect against the fury of which the flames proceeded to live off of.

"You see it too now, huh?" Rouge asked, not seeming to be that surprised. Limply turning back around, the batgirl said, in the most depression-laced words he'd ever heard: "For me, it's _always_ like this…"

With that, she folded her wings tightly to her back and continued to slowly walk up the stairs of fire. Seconds later, another support beam exploded in flames and fell, landing on the steps a few meters in front of the fox. Her body escaped his view as the whole section of the stairway suddenly collapsed around him. Miles jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the tons of burning wood as they piled on top of one another, bursting into more hot fire seconds later. He scrambled back to his feet in the small corner of space left and looked up to see the whole section of the stairway Rouge was standing on minutes ago was now gone.

And she was too.

"Rouge…" he whispered, not knowing what to say. He looked down at the floor, feeling tears flow down his cheeks again too. They dripped and let out a soft hiss as they landed on the heated floor at his feet. Even if she escaped from that section of the stairway in time, he knew she might be happier if she hadn't, and he knew he'd probably never see her again. "Goodbye, Rouge…"

And the stairs of fire around him continued to burn. Silently, he prayed that the girl would find some sort of peace at the end of her own long journey, even if it would be short lived. At least it'd be there, and that was the best he could hope for for not only her, but also for himself. Still standing there on what was left of the floor, Miles remorsefully stared up at the ever-burning stairway that seemed to spiral up and up forever into the flames.


	30. Prelude to Fate

**Sonic Hill 2: DX **

**Chapter 30: Prelude to Fate**

------

-_BANG!_

-_Chic-chink!_

-_BANG!_

-_Chic-chink!_

The last skinless gorilla fell to the floor, dead as Miles ran down the disillusioned and deformed corridor. The chorus of taps and clinks seemed to come from every direction, never ending, while the ground beneath his feel rocked back and forth like an unstable cruise ship. It was like a nightmare; it always has been, but it never literally felt as surreal as it did now.

Four more shotgun shells. Fourteen more rifle shells. And a few more handgun bullets.

Didn't matter all that much if he ran out, he'd die anyway.

Miles still couldn't believe he'd made it here. He'd gone so far, done so much, all to get to this haunted decimated hotel to find the truth he'd been hiding from himself all along. And now he knew, he wasn't going to get out of this town—none of them were, just like Eggman had said. Everything was so close to the end, he could feel it. He'd succeeded, and he'd failed at the same time.

Rouge was gone, if not dead. Maybe he could have saved her if he'd only done something…but he couldn't now.

Shadow was dead. Though it made little sense, it didn't change the fact that he'd been given a second chance to save his only real ally. And again, he'd failed.

Eggman was dead, though it was a justified killing wasn't it? He'd killed a murderer, and in doing that he might have just given the fat balding man the easy way out.

And finally, Sonic was dead. Murdered by the same boy he called his love. If it weren't for that…Miles would have never come to this town in the first place. Just like Rouge and Eggman, he had committed one of the deadliest sins, and for that he too would face his deserved end soon enough.

(_soon enough_)

'_But…Sonic's voice…_'

That was the only medium of hope left, although it was only a receded glimmer. Anything seemed possible in this place, and that was the only reason he kept going on as it is…

The flames that penetrated the decaying walls seemed to melt back into the rotted wood as the hotel continued to toss and turn restlessly. The Employee's Only corridor he stood in was wiped clean of other life now, the only inhabitant of it long past dead. Miles held the handle of the east wall door tightly, willing the emotional strength to use it. If the map was correct, this door would lead into the side-court of the hotel, where he could go around the front and take the entrance doors – the door to the T-shaped back corridor was locked so this was his only remaining path.

'_Only way left…_'

Pulling the door open, he peeked into what should be the outside area. Shock assaulted his thoughts – the maps accuracy seemed to be wrong for once. Although he should be in the court right now, he stared into another rusty faded wall. Looking down to his left, he saw that instead of the court, he was in another corridor that hugged the perimeter of the hotel. The flooring, rather than crumbling wooden boards, was brown-ish red metal grating overlooking a black bottomless pit, like it had been in the C-corridor of the hospital and the streets of the town. Dim red lights swung back and forth on the black ceiling, looking as if they'd drop down and bring the room back into darkness any second. Even though it didn't look like he planned, that didn't matter – the corridor turned left on the northeast corner and proceeded to where the doors to the lobby should be.

Miles ran down the corridor, his weakened legs aching along the way, and turned at the corner, running forward for a bit more until he jammed on the breaks at the wall.

'_Whoa…_'

9. 9. 9. Red plaques lined the wall. He didn't know what they were for or why they were there, but they gave off an intimidating and unsettling feeling, just like so many of the other strange things he'd seen (and killed) throughout his unfortunate quest.

As the soles of his tormented shoes dominated the caged floor, Miles knew the end was very very near. Sonic's voice seemed to almost echo from somewhere – but the way it was heard he couldn't tell if it was coming from inside his head or from very far away. And the taps and clinks that had sounded constantly for the past hour were getting even louder and louder by the moment.

The Lakeview Hotel front double doors stood beside him. Their aged rusty handles, which looked beautiful and elegant in the past, turned creakily as Miles pulled them over and pushed the doors open. With the large room in sight, Miles stepped into the lobby.

Concrete was the floor now, along in a thin film of dirt. That same mark he'd seen in the Book of Lost Memories and in the prison cell—that large triangle within a circle covered in foreign letters—was on the ground in the rooms center, making the place look almost like a ritualistic area. Everything else on the first floor was barren and empty. All the doors were gone completely except for the two double doors on both sides of the now non-existent staircase.

"_Tails_!"

Miles's blood-shot eyes darted right and left across the lobby again, searching for who that cry had exploded from. He knew who it was before he even looked up and saw him on the balcony of the 2nd floor.

"_Shadow!_"

The black hedgehog hung upside down, suspended in mid air. His arms and legs were strapped to a large and strange looking wooden structure in a way that made his thin dark furry body resemble an upside down cross. The mechanism itself looked like some sort of torture device. Miles realized its structure was similar to that of those metal cages he'd seen in the Misty Day painting. Behind the hedgehog, where the clean window overlooking the lake once was, was a large stain-glassed window depicting a woman and her baby screaming into the air as flames surrounded them. Shadow's crimson eyes, streaked with pain along with a little hopefulness, stared at him from afar.

(_!shadow hes alive again!_)

"Tails…" Shadow's eyes were half-lidded, and he looked just as tired as the other furry felt.

(_help him_)

"I'll get you out of there!" Miles exclaimed while rescanning the area. Maybe he could play the role of the hero for once, after all…

But that would be no easy task. Since the stairs were missing, he had virtually no way of getting to him any time soon. Still, Shadow gave him a weak smile that reassured him a bit, reassured him enough to try and find another way again…

-_Creek!_

The fox's gaze darted back up to the second floor and widened in pure horror as the doors on both sides of the 2nd floor balcony opened. Two hulking bodies staggered out of them simultaneously. A giant red metal helmet shielded on both of their heads, and for a second Miles thought he was seeing double.

Pyramid Head stood on the right wall, but also on the left one, bringing Miles to the realization that there must have been two all along. Giant rusty knives still in their gray withered hands, they limbered towards Shadow at a painfully slow pace. Terror spread itself across the hedgehog's pale face as he—along with the equally terrified fox—concluded what they intended to do.

(_no no not now not him please go away demons go away_)

"No…" Shadow whispered, crystal sadness suicidally sliding down his forehead and onto the floor far below.

(_!no not shadow!_)

"No! _No!_ Go away!" the fox cried. He knew they wouldn't stop, and they didn't, they didn't even seem to hear him. They continued moving in on Shadow, finding pleasure in the distress they were causing the helpless fox who might as well have been light years away. "_Stop! Leave him alone!!_"

"Help me…" the hedgehog weakly spoke, knowing just as much as Miles what was going to happen in mere moments.

(_!no!_)

Miles let out a terrified, devastated scream at the top of his lungs, completely shattering his voice's usual barrier of both pitch and volume and sending explosive rivets of his hopelessness throughout the dead hotel. "_LEAVE HIM ALONE!! LEAVE US BOTH THE FUCK ALONE!!!_"

At the same time, both Pyramid Heads reached the hedgehog, raised their knives, and thrust them into his small body. Like a ticket machine, both tips of the blades spurted out of Shadow's black-furred belly, along with an ocean of blood that splattered onto the floor below.

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!_" A scream tore the hedgehog's lips open—similar to the scream he'd given in the hospital before his first unfortunate collision with death. It merged with Miles's horrified scream that followed, creating an agonized crescendo.

(_!!!NONONO!!!_)

"T-tails…I don't wanna die…" Shadow managed to croak painfully, before his weakened crimson eyes shut and his whole body went limp on the device. Almost mocking the way Sonic had died, blood oozed out of the hedgehog's mouth, along with the oceans of crimson erupting from his decimated stomach. Flowing down his lifeless body, it all joined together again the puddle already forming on the lobby's floor.

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

The Pyramid Heads' giant blood-sheeted knifes clinked against the ground, creating that very familiar death beat. Like they were both one mind, they jumped off the balcony and landed on both sides of the crimson puddle, only about ten feet away from where the traumatized fox now stood.

Miles's useless shotgun fell to the floor, followed shortly by himself as he too fell to his knees in the middle of the symbol on the floor – he was too drained of hope to even stand anymore. With each passing second, the monsters took a step closer to him, clinking their weapons murderously against the uninviting floor. But he didn't try to run away – he had no want or reason to any longer. He whispered softly, feeling his eyes begin to sting with tears not for the first time that day.

"Shadow…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"He's gone…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"It's all my fault…they're both gone…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"I caused all this…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"And he's going just to keep dying before my eyes over and over again, forever…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"I was weak…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"That's why I needed him…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"I needed Shadow—and you—to punish me for my sins…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"But now he's gone…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"It's all over…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"I understand now…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"It's…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

"It's time…"

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

Miles looked up to the monsters, still closing in on him and only a few feet away. His aching eyes narrowed into hateful slits. "_It's time to finish this!!!_"

The duel Pyramid Heads, both of which were now standing on both sides of the weakened but still living fox, beat their knifes against the ground even harder now, adding a pinch of angered disappointment to their increasingly loud song. They knew he would not go down that easily anymore. Adrenalin spilled into the young fox's body in a sour, jittery flood, and he rose painstakingly to his feet. Quickly, he raised the shotgun to his eyelevel, pointed at the large beast to his immediate left, and fired.

-_KABOOM!_

While not fatal, the blast proved to be more powerful than the ammo he'd fired into the monster in the labyrinth. It stumbled back a few feet, clutching its stomach for a few moments before standing upright again and continuing its assault. The second Pyramid Head, with amazing agility, raised its blade above its head and slammed it down to the floor that fox stood on, but by that point the fox was already off the ground, flying through the air with the shotgun still in hand. Before ending his diving dodge and landing on the ground, he fired the weapon into the beasts' thigh. He was rewarded with a groan from inside its tin can of a metallic helmet.

When his dive ended, he immediately rolled and was back on his feet just in time to dodge another attack by the first Pyramid Head. Rather than giving up its advance, the monster swung its knife into the air, turning it and doing a hard horizontal swing. Miles ducked underneath the weapon, saving his head in the process, and shot the monster in the torso right before it was able to attack a third time. Blood flowers bloomed in its ripped chest, but that didn't stop its fourth attack completely. It spun around, just nearly hitting the fox's scalp, and accidentally slashed into the torso of the second Pyramid Head lightly. A few strings of clingy cloth, along with grayed flesh escaped its atmosphere, only increasing the anger it breathed.

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink!_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink!_

Miles broke into a sprint; zooming to the back of the lobby and out of both his antagonists reach. Right before reaching the wall, the fox spun around so his back smacked against it painfully. Completely ignoring the never-ending ache in his body, Miles raised the shotgun to his eyelevel again, pointing it at the first Pyramid Head that—along with his cousin—was charging at him at a deadly speed.

-_Click!_

With a grunt, the fox dropped the empty boomstick and pulled out the hunting rifle from behind him. In the labyrinth it didn't work, but he had no other choice but to use it now. Shouldering the powerful weapon, he took aim and fired at the stomach of the nearest incoming monster.

The gun roared in sync with its target. A "pleasantly" large amount of blood splotched out of its chest. While the unfortunate Pyramid Head was forced to stop for a moment to recuperate, the second one kept on charging. Miles jumped a few feet into the air, put his feet against the wall, and pushed hard, the result sending him practically flying forward and past his so-called killer's attack. Pyramid Head stabbed its knife right into the wall he stood before a moment earlier, sending cracks through the brown wood. Miles was already far past it, rapidly spinning his double-jointed tails and actually floating through the air for a short period of time before landing back on his feet.

He did not let the surprise instinctive move stop him though; he reached the solid flooring again and charged at the still stunned Pyramid Head in front of him, raising the rifle and smashing the butt of the weapon into its facial shield full force. The overwhelming oomph combined with the surprise in one heavy push that sent Pyramid Head stumbling backwards, almost falling over completely. Rapid footsteps were heard, and Miles spun around just in time to smash the other Pyramid Head—who had been charging at him—in the face too. Had its helmet not been there, he may have just possible broken its neck if not smashed its face in, but it still lived on. Its blade flung itself across the floor as it passed by him, coming dangerously close to his ankles before he hopped over it.

When gravity pulled him back onto the surface of the earth, he zoomed back across the lobby, repeating the same technique as before. He spun around when he reached the wall, put his back to it, and fired a fresh rifle shell at the nearest Pyramid Head's body.

-_BANG!_

The shell zipped across the room, implanting itself painfully into the monster's mangled chest. It recoiled for a moment before beginning to run at him again. The second one was right behind it; still creating that intense beat with its knife.

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink!_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink!_

Miles spun the rifle around repeatedly like a propeller and smacked it across the monster's face when it reached him, then moved his gun to his upper left, blocking the vertical swing from the nightmare's twin just in time. With a third spin, he threw the weapon upwards and hit it upside the head again. He ended his combination attack with a fourth spin, which stopped with the rifle firmly in his hands and the barrel pointed directly at Pyramid Head, and squeezed the trigger at point blank range.

Its body twitched and another loud roar echoed throughout the hotel, followed by a splatter of blood onto the dirt-coated floor. While this made the wounded monster back off, the other one was finally regaining its senses from the last attack. Quickly, the fox turned and fired another slice of pain into the other Pyramid Head's torso. The monster swung its knife horizontally, scrapping it across the wall towards the fox, but Miles reacted fast enough to sprint past the monster. He literally felt the tip of the blade touch his back before he broke clear of its range, which scared him enough to continue running ahead until he reached the back of the lobby again. Rifle still in hand, he spun around and aimed at the duo Pyramid Heads as they staggered closer towards him again.

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink!_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink!_

'_Eleven shells left…_'

Taking the time to reload his rifle, Miles shouldered it again and took aim—

"_gggggrrrrIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!_"

Shivers climbed up and down the fox's spine, and he instinctively covered his ears for a moment to block out the abrupt cry. Both Pyramid Heads let out an intense roar from within their metal helmets, still banging their knifes against the floor. Their 'eyes' left the two-tailed kitsune, traveling the short distance from where he stood to the center of the room. Together, they walked into the middle of the lobby where the strange symbol lie, intriguing the fox enough to cease firing at their cadaverous bodies.

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

_Taptaptap, clink, tap tap, clink…_

The intensity of their song decreased hugely, until it stopped entirely. What happened next confused and surprised the fox beyond belief.

Flipping their knives into the air suddenly and simultaneously, the duo Pyramid Heads grabbed its tip with their withered gray hands before it crashed back down to the floor. With the tip of their weapons in hand, they spun it around and slammed the handle into the ground—on the triangle within the circle carved on the floor—with such force that it actually dug into the cement. Both sharp parts of the knife stuck out awkwardly in such a way that they formed an X.

Standing before their twin's blade, the Pyramid Heads raised their arms into the air and let out another horrifying battle cry, this one weaker than before. Then, they let themselves fall forward and let gravity do the rest, impaling themselves on one-another's weapon. The tip of both blades—now stained in even more blood than ever before—poked out of their backs, becoming the obvious cause of the convulsions their bodies proceeded to go into next. Less than a second later, they stopped, and their thin arms fell to their sides.

And all was silent.

Miles blinked, then blinked again, trying to take in what the hell had just happened. The duo Pyramid Heads limp bodies showed no signs of ever moving again, and he knew they never would. By some strange twist of

(_luck?_)

they'd changed their minds about murdering him – instead committing suicide brutally before his very eyes with no sign of reason or foreshadowing.

The silence of the lobby was already carving disturbed feelings into him – now that its musicians were gone, the tapping and clinking had stopped, and so had the other various random noises. The water dripping from the ceiling only seemed to be within the corridors, not the lobby itself, and the rocking and creaking noise had died out too. Miles was left alone with his own confused thoughts for the moment, and he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be like this, how much longer he could be like this. His body was about ready to self-destruct already, overcome by the roller coaster of emotions he'd been strapped to for so long.

'_Now where do I go…?_'

Sonic wasn't here, and everyone else was dead, except for Amy, and he wasn't sure if she'd ever want to see him again anyway.

'_Only one way…_'

His red-rimmed eyes tore themselves away from the impaled corpses of both Pyramid Heads, moving across the walls towards the two sets of double doors that lead into the T-shaped back corridor. It was strange; he was basically going the opposite way he came. That flicker of hope had dissipated, but he knew it wasn't over. Not just yet.

Pyramid Head was no more. But his mission was not complete, he had to keep going. Past the point of no return, no backwards glances, just forward into what lie ahead. There was no light at the end of the tunnel; he knew that behind those doors lie his fate. Or perhaps fate was not the right word for it, he wasn't sure. What he was sure of though was that he'd find out soon. Very soon.

'_Now it all ends…_'

His dirty-gloved fingers wrapped around the large rusty door handles of the left set of double doors. Turning them ever so slowly, he pulled them open and peered into the darkness beyond. It was time.

(_my fate_)

--------

**A/N: **_It's almost over – this fic is finally coming to a close. Unlike most though, I'm trying a different approach with this, similar to the multiple endings you get in the game Silent Hill 2. While it might seem way unorthodox, six different outcomes lie ahead for our weary protagonist, along with a closing epilogue. I know this is very weird, but it worked the first time around. You can choose whichever one you want to believe, all of them are intended as alternatives to one another. Keep in mind though that this is does _not _make this fanfic an Interactive. Nothing you do physically changes the outcome, it's just your choice what you wanna believe, or whatever._

_Thank you all so much for reading this far, I really appreciate it! And I hope you will enjoy the finales!! )_

_Sonic19902_


	31. Ending I: Shadow

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Ending I: Shadow

------

Through the darkness of the corridor, Miles could only see one door remaining (the others had disappeared long ago, replaced by cold gray cementing). Directly ahead, the peaceful double doors that lead back outside to the back-court and the docks stood, waiting for the hotels final passenger to accept its invitation to the world beyond.

(_so very close_)

Feelings of ever-impending doom never ceased, but he wouldn't give in yet. The tired two-tailed canine navigated across the T-shaped corridor, traveling across the creaky rotted wooden floor until he reached the double doors at the end. Opening them only brought him into another long, dark corridor. It _should _have led him to the back-court, but that didn't matter. It would lead him wherever he needed to go.

It stretched out very far, like the hospital corridor he'd been ambushed in so long ago. Still, no light appeared at the end, leaving him uncertain of what lie ahead. A minute of passing by the dark walls later, a gigantic set of steel double doors came into view. They looked just as old, rusted, and withered as any other. He pressed the strangely shaped handle to his right and pushed, straining a bit before the huge door opened into a very bright, grayish-white area.

Fog.

But he was not at the docks; instead he was in a very weird, dream-like place. Gray metal grating led a bit forward, cutting through the layers of never-ending fog. Alongside the short piece of flooring were some guardrails, but nothing else. Below the catwalk, no signs of a ground or horizon existed. Just more and more fog, as if the place was floating in the middle of the sky. He turned the flashlight off and continued moving forward, quickly reaching a metal staircase that looked as if it ended only a few steps up.

A chill massaged his fur, but he didn't stop. As he climbed

(_how much longer_?)

up the stairs, every step sapped more and more energy; feeling like it'd be his last. Like the stairs of fire where that batgirl had disappeared, it didn't seem to end. The fog made it look almost as if every step materialized before him, just in time to support his weight.

Until he saw the top. When he reached it though, he was surprised to see it didn't lead anywhere, just kind of ended abruptly there in the sky. For a moment he thought he was stuck, but then his eyes stared down and saw that the stairs had just went back down now – like a very badly crafted overpass or something. So, he began descending the stairs now, going downwards for about a minute before he reached another change in the direction – they began to lead back upwards again. Miles never stopped, even if it went on forever he would never stop. He couldn't now. His feet ached, but he still ran up the steps for awhile.

Finally, a real end was in sight. A large platform stood up in the grayness, looking like it was the top of a building or something. The concrete holding it up just lead down as far as the eye could see, which wasn't very far thanks to the fog. Chain-link fencing surrounded the whole place. Miles couldn't help but glance back behind him, seeing that the steps had disappeared. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't turn back now.

With a soft squeak, the gated door leading into the platform opened and he was inside the confines of the structure. There wasn't any fog in here, as if the gates shielded the outside air from reaching in. It looked like a building had once been here – small forms of brick walling stood diligently, seemingly the remains of what had been torn down with a wrecking ball ages ago. Grass and vines grew along some of the broken walls, creating a peaceful, not to mention beautiful scene.

And in the middle of the room, Sonic stood, as if expecting him to arrive that very moment.

"_Sonic!!_" Miles's dry voice shouted happily. He instantly broke into a short sprint and reached the cobalt hedgehog seconds later.

"I've been waiting for you, Tails."

Tears of joy formed in the fox's face – his eyes weren't deceiving him, it really _was_ Sonic. He had thought it was over, but his blue hero really was standing before him; the despairing wait had finally ended.

Miles pulled the hedgehog into a big, strong hug, feeling his heart flutter as he felt that familiar feeling of his love's fur pressing against his own. It wasn't just a dream, not at all…

Sonic did not hug back though. In fact, he didn't even show any signs of happiness for the fox's arrival. Instead, he asked a single question: "What took you so long?"

The high of the moment quickly falling, Miles let go of the disconsolate hedgehog and stated sadly. "I'm sorry…I tried to get here as fast as I could. But I got…off track."

"That's not true, is it?" Sonic stated coldly, a hint of betrayed sadness in his voice. What he said next was barely a grim whisper. "_You killed me…_"

"I…I couldn't watch you suffer…" Guilt overcame the fox; it felt so hard hearing it out loud…

"You're lying." His emerald green eyes disappeared behind his dark blue eyelids. Miles could see the side of his face twitch slightly, as if he was trying his best to hold in a world of rage. Looking away, Sonic continued bitterly. "I was just a burden on you…that's why you hated me. That's why you killed me too. Isn't it?"

"N-no!" Miles's eyes widened. His slightly shaking fingers wrapped around his love's forearms comfortingly. "That's not true. I loved you, and I still do. I always will."

"_Bullshit!!_" That world of rage slipped through the cracks of Sonic's bitter restraints. He ripped his hands away and pushed backwards roughly. "You never gave a fuck about me! Don't lie, I _know_ it! That's why you never visited! That's why you killed me! I was useless to you!"

"No…" Not only was his body, but his voice was shaking too this time. Shaking with fear and terror at what he feared to be the truth in Sonic's words. "I could never hate you…"

Sonic's frown deepened and he shook his head. "I gave you a chance. I gave you a chance to be forgiven. And what did you do? You threw it in my face; fell in love with _him_!"

There was a long pause, for the fox was left speechless. His body felt numb; all the feelings seemed to coagulate into his brain, overwhelming it with lightheadedness. Sonic's words couldn't possibly be true, could they? _Could_ they…?

This was more horrifying than any monster could ever be. Taking in a deep breath, Miles finally responded.

"Yes, it's true…" he stared shamefully down at the floor. "I fell in love with him…but I didn't mean to. I came all this way to see you…even an _illusion_ of you…" Looking back up at the hedgehog, Miles stated with discontent. "It was a long three years, Sonic. I was…_tired_. But that's all over now, I still love you."

"Really." Sonic didn't sound convinced. "You've never kept your fucking promises; you lied to me, and you still are, after all this. Do you _really_ think I can forgive you?"

The tears of joy were long gone, replaced by an overwhelming amount of sorrow. Miles stared back down to the floor, not even wanting to say or see or hear any longer. He wished he were just dead. Solitude almost seemed blissful now.

"Sonikku…"

"Don't call me that anymore!" The blue hedgehog exclaimed, eyes narrowing into hate-filled trenches. "I'll _never_ forgive you for this! Fuck you, Tails! _Fuck you!!_"

"Sonic please—!"

"_I HATE YOU TAILS!!!_" The hedgehog screeched with an unbelievable amount of scorn. "_I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I—aaah!!_"

Miles jumped back in surprise when the scream interjected his lover's words. It wasn't a scream of anger; it was of extreme unbearable pain. An abnormally loud heartbeat pounded from the hedgehog's light-skinned chest, only adding to the intensity of his cries. Before he could make another move, Sonic screamed again, looking up into the gray sky and repeatedly crying out.

Like he was in pain…

Like he was _dying_…

"S-Sonic, what's wrong?" Miles stuttered, scared out of his mind. Sonic's gloved hands crunched up and waved around his face, seemingly confused on how to react. The right hand grasped back onto his chest, finding its target and fruitlessly trying to stop the ache obviously coming from it. Another loud heartbeat emitted, followed by a series of increasingly fast ones.

"Tails…it…it hurts!" Sonic gasped for breath, backing away too, himself. The look on his eyes told the fox he was no longer angry, but now very very afraid. His voice shook with the beat of his heart, desperately trying to communicate through the wall of pain. "It…Tails…please help me! Make it—_stop!_ Tails…I…Tails! Aaaah_—AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!_"

—CRACK!

The twin-tailed kitsune covered his face with his hands and gasped in pure horror as Sonic's neck cracked out of place, spurting blood into the mystic air. More screams of agony erupted from his deceased boyfriend's mouth when his body began convulsing violently like he was being electrified.

"Sonic!"

"_AAAAHHHHHH!!!!_"

Some unknown force pulled the hedgehog a few inches into the air, holding him in a ghostlike hover above the ground. Each and every bone in his thin body cracked in and out of place, sending more jolts of agony shooting through him. Miles, horrified beyond belief, peeked through his fingers, unable to resist the urge to watch. Blood sprayed out of the cobalt hedgehog with every crack and every scream. Sonic's voice began to grow deeper and deeper, beginning to sound inhuman and deformed. His spikes cracked like the rest of his body and stuck up into the air abnormally, resembling that of the black hedgehog's spines Miles had met in the past, almost. His broken arms and legs never ceased in bending and spazming, showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. And finally, his fur began to change, actually growing brighter: from a dark cobalt blue to a striking unnatural gold.

Miles shut his eyes tight again, wishing more than ever that he were blind. Blind and deaf and dead. But the sounds never stopped, leaving him to mentally see the hedgehog's pained expression instead. A few seconds later, he opened them again and took his hands away from his face, unable to hide anymore.

The now golden hedgehog floated a few feet in front of him spazming and screaming still. His head was bent down, staring at the cracked floor. His screams showed almost no resemblance to how it was before. No longer was young and innocent, but now demonic and distorted. A light gold aura surrounded him, making him appear some sort of hell angel.

"N-no, t-this can't…" Miles whispered, face twitching with only more horror.

And then, the hedgehog slowly looked back up at him. Crimson red, demonic eyes stared back at the fox, replacing the beautiful emerald green ones he used to love so much.

The blood within Miles's shell of flesh stirred up a new batch of horrifying adrenaline, for he knew what was going to happen in mere seconds. He took a step back, his mind not anywhere near ready to accept what was going on. "Sonic…"

"_TAILS!_" Sonic's enraged demonic voice replied.

In an instant, the hedgehog's hand shot up into the air, smacking Miles upside the face and sending him flipping backwards to land on his stomach. In another flash, the surprised fox felt the other male grab his neck and lift him into the air.

"_TAILSTAILSTAILSTAILSTAILS!!!_"

"No!" Miles cried as Sonic literally threw him across the arena with unimaginable strength. His still-not-even-halfway-healed-back hit the chain-link gating, shaking it and causing him to scream out in pain right before he felt the hedgehog smash into him.

"_TAILS!!_" Sonic screamed again as he mashed his hand into the fox's face. His hands burned, burned more than even fire could.

"_Aaaahhhh!!_" he cried. The burning never stopped, but the shock of what was actually happening still overcame much of the agony. He knew he had no choice but to fight back.

Reaching into his side pack, Miles grabbed for Rouge's knife, which still rested silently within it. Pulling it out, he raised it and quickly made a large fresh cut on the hedgehog's gold-furred arm. Sonic grunted with pain and let go, dropping the fox back to his feet.

'—_this can't be happening—_'

Only more enraged, Super Sonic stared at him with a look of pure hatred and grabbed his neck, thrusting him back into the gate painfully. Miles instinctively stabbed the knife forward in reaction, connecting the halfway mark of the blade with the hedgehog's stomach. Blood spurt out and onto his face as Sonic screamed again and floated backwards. A second later, Miles had the hunting rifle aimed at the hedgehog's chest.

-**_BANG!!!_**

A hole appeared as the shell pierced the hedgehog's chest, cutting into his heart. It would have killed any normal life form surely, but like too many of the other things the fox had fought in his horror-ridden adventure, Sonic only let out an aggravated roar in reaction. He fell to his knees for a moment and began panting heavily; giving Miles enough time and space to escape. Running as fast as he could, Miles sprinted across the arena and spun around. Sonic was finally recovering from the blow – blood spilled out of his chest like a faucet, but he still lived on. Before Miles knew it, Sonic was already right in front of him. The hedgehog punched him lightly in the face, sending him stumbling backwards. He tripped over the remains of a short brick wall and landed on his back with his legs dangling in the air.

Immediately he aimed the rifle straight up. He'd calculated correctly: Super Sonic appeared above him—moving so fast it looked as if he were just warping across the place—but Miles was able to fire the shell into his body before it was too late. Miles rolled to his feet, but only stood for a moment before Sonic spun around and did a high kick into his face. He ducked under the attack just in time, hearing the brick walling behind him explode the moment the demonic hedgehog made contact with it. In a panic, Miles reached back into the side pack and swung the knife out of it, slashing it across Sonic's chest before he could make another move. Crimson sprayed over both of them as the deep cut took its effect.

At this point, he realized he was crying. Sonic was too. They both were…

Super Sonic stumbled backwards again; the pain surrounding his frail but powerful body never seemed to end. Miles, his face still covered with sprinkles of his ex-boyfriend's blood, ran to his left as fast as he could. He felt Sonic ram into his back at a speed beyond belief, and flew through the air uncontrollably. He landed on the ground and slid across the cement about ten feet away.

Crying out in pain but not too overcome with it to stop thinking straight, Miles rolled over. Sonic's fist landed on the ground his head was lying on a second earlier, sending chunks of cement flying everywhere. Sharp wounds appeared in Miles's face as he felt slices of the cement cut across him. That didn't stop him though – he continued rolling for his life, hearing and almost feeling Sonic's punches on the ground behind him as he moved across the floor, missing by inches each time. Rolling back to his feet with surprisingly good agility, the terrified furry sprinted away from his enemy until he reached the right end of the place, stopping at the fence.

Rifle back in hand, Miles turned around and squeezed the trigger. Sonic sidestepped out of the shells' path with incredible speed, and in another flash he was mere inches away.

"_TAILSTAILSTAILS!_"

Miles ducked underneath the hedgehog's arm, saving himself from getting pummeled to death. He somersaulted across the floor behind Sonic and ran away again at top speed. He timed things perfectly and jumped to the left, dodging the spiky one's incoming charge. Sonic flew passed him and towards another piece of brick walling. But rather than running headfirst into it, he spun his body around so his feet landed on the wall, instantly pushing and sending him flying back in the fox's direction. Knife in hand, Miles spun around, hearing the blade slice through part of Sonic's arm. It stuck all the way in and left with the hedgehog as he passed him by. The sound along with the feeling sent cold shivers down his spine.

Terrified and devastated, but unable to have time to think about what was going on, Miles broke into another run, moving about five feet away before spinning and firing at Sonic's back, which was still turned towards him. The golden hedgehog fell to his knees and let out another agonizing yelp into the air.

Another ping of guilt surged through his body as Miles realized what he was doing to his old lover; what _they_ were doing. But it was too late; there was no way to change it now. Sonic was trying to kill him, and he had to defend himself, no matter how coldhearted and cowardly it was.

Sonic's hand slapped across his face, almost breaking his jaw. Miles fell to the floor, unable to react quickly enough to evade when the powerful being grabbed onto the back of his neck and tried to lift him back into the air. The pain the knife caused in Sonic's arm was too much by this point though; he dropped the fox back to the floor and clutched his aching limb. Miles spun his legs around and kicked him in the ribs, sending Sonic into a blinding stumble. He grabbed for the rifle and fired into his body. Another scream of agony later, Sonic turned to him and glared with those freaky devilish eyes.

"_TAILSTAILSTAILS!!!_"

Miles stuck another shell into the rifle and aimed up, but Sonic's hand grasped onto the tip of the weapon and pushed it to the left a split second before he pulled the trigger. The gun roared. Its shell ricochet off of the floor and bounced to someplace else that wasn't the least bit important to them at the moment. Miles sprung to his feet and pushed the rifle into the hedgehog's chest, trying to hold him back with it. With another yank, Sonic broke the rifle in two like it was a twig, then thrust the pieces into his combatant's face. Miles almost fell back down, but managed to keep his balance and pulled his only weapon left—the weak but trusty handgun—out of his side-pack. Quickly he fired a shot of lead into Sonic's face. He threw his head back to groan in pain for the millionth time when it cut into his cheek.

While much weaker, the handgun was much much faster. He fired again, and a fresh hole appeared in Sonic's right shin. More blood. The orange kitsune turned to his right to evade him again, but Sonic was suddenly in front of him now. He dived to the left and fired two more shots in midair before his shoulder smashed into the ground. Both bullets hit his lover—now enemy—in the stomach.

Far too many gunshot wounds covered his body for his life to make logical sense, but the agonized furry still moved. Golden light surrounded his bullet-riddled body, and he floated higher into the air, defying not only the laws of physics but also of gravity completely now. Miles stared up in horror as the airborne hedgehog stared back down to him, his eyes holding no compassion or positive emotions in it any longer. Only burning, deep hatred

A plethora of yellowish light formed in Super Sonic's palm. Miles knew what it was, and he couldn't believe it was real. Thrusting his hand out, Sonic shot a large ball of pure electrified energy towards him. The fox jumped out of the way and the ball collided with the ground, creating a huge explosion that sent him flying even farther forward.

"_TAILSTAILSTAILS!!!_" Sonic screamed from above, only growing even angrier at Miles's persistence.

Right when he landed back on the floor, Miles squeezed the trigger of the small handgun again. Sonic flashed from one location to another, dodging the bullet. The fox's eyes darted back and forth, quickly spotting the hedgehog not too far to the left. Before he could even more the weapon, Sonic zapped twenty feet to the right. The fox realized he was still only moving really fast and aimed behind him. He timed everything perfectly, moved the gun more to the right, where Sonic zoomed to, and fired. The bullet shattered his right eye, stopping him in his tracks. He covered the now decimated eye socket with his bloody hand and screamed in agony, allowing Miles to fire two more bullets. The first one missed, but the second engraved itself into his abdomen.

Another energy ball began to form in his hand, and it was already shooting at the fox before he could make another move. Miles rolled as fast as he could, just barely missing the explosion, but the impact sent him careening into another forming of plant-laced brick.

Groaning, he got back to his feet. He could worry about the pain later. Spinning around, he opened fire; the bullet zipped through the sky and pierced Sonic's forehead, cutting straight into his brain. Blood flew out of both sides of his heard, and Sonic let out the loudest, most agonizing cry Miles heard in his entire life. His body fell from the sky and landed not too far away from where the fox stood in a heap.

"No!" Sonic cried as his voice began to change again, turning back to normal. His golden fur darkened back to blue, and his pointy spikes began to droop back down while Miles ran up to him and pointed the gun down at his face. A low groan, and Sonic began to speak weakly. "Tails…no…I'm sorry…_Tails_…_Tails_…_Tails_…"

Miles still gripped the gun tightly, looking down upon him angrily.

(_no no youre not sonic youre a monster go away demon go away go away go away go away)_

Grimly, the fox spoke in the coldest tone of voice he'd ever imprinted into someone's ears. "No…you're not."

With that, he squeezed the trigger one last time. The final bullet crossed the short distance between the two and joined the other one in the Sonic's brain with a deafening crack. The back of Sonic's head smacked into the hard cement, and a sea of blood spurt all over both of them. His half-lidded eyes looked back at Miles wearily.

"_Why_,_ Tails_…?" his pleading, dying voice whispered.

A final shudder, and Sonic's body fell limp. All the sound in the world disappeared, leaving Miles alone in the deathly cold silence.

It was over.

"S…Sonic…" Miles muttered, knowing very well he wouldn't hear him, and he never would again.

Eyes wide, he dropped the handgun to the floor and fell to his knees.

"_Sonikku…_" he whispered. His gloved hands placed themselves onto the cold cement, and he begin softly crying…

----------

----------

----------

And Sonic's hill of green burned for all eternity…

----------

----------

----------

The cold water of Lake Toluca waved back and forth amongst the steady wind. Rosewater Park had not suffered any changes since it had last been visited; its once beautiful historic monuments and sights were now faded and withered away, but still there. No matter how long the town existed, Miles felt pretty sure they'd always stay the same, unlike many places—and characters—he'd come to know in his lifetime.

His murky figure stood, shrouded in fog, as he looked down at soft waters of the lake. He held in his hands the now crumpled photograph of the Sonic the Hedgehog of four years ago. He had no idea what to do and where to go anymore, nor how he'd managed to get all the way back here. It didn't really seem to matter either way now; _nothing _really mattered anymore.

He sighed as memories of Sonic and himself when they were happy together came flooding back. It was so hard to believe things had really ended up this way. But he knew it was true, and there was no changing it. They had always stared at the water, in this very spot, smiling and admiring what the town—and each other—had to offer as they leaned on the railing like he did now. If the fog weren't covering up the place, the nostalgia's intensity would be three times more extreme. Memories from the lost days…he really missed them, and his chagrin heart longed for that slice of peace he'd once had again. Perhaps this was as much peace as he'd ever get, but he didn't know. He didn't feel happy at all; he just felt alone.

Soft footsteps manifested in the distance, growing louder and louder by the second. Miles didn't care who it was, really. Like everything else, it just didn't matter anymore. Maybe it was another unfortunate sinner looking for his or her way to wherever they needed to go. Maybe it was a monster. Or maybe it was just his imagination. He was proven wrong on all counts when he heard a very familiar deep voice emit from not too far behind him.

"Did you kill Sonic again yet?"

Turning around, the weary fox wasn't very surprised to stare into those deep, crimson eyes. Like a ghost passing through the fog, Shadow stood a few feet behind him. He had neither a scratch nor a fur out of place on his beautiful slender form. With another sigh, Miles turned, facing the lake again, and stared back at Sonic's picture.

"Yeah…" he said dryly. Taking one last look at the picture, he let go. Sonic's photo slowly descended into the cold water and disappeared from view as it was carried away into the tide. A saddened, collective thought later, he spoke again: "Shadow…"

"Yeah?" the black hedgehog asked. Miles faced him and wrapped his fingers gently around Shadow's black-furred forearms.

"I want you." His slightly high voice spoke at little more than a whisper. He pulled the hedgehog into a warm embrace, and then stared back into his dark eyes. "I don't want to be alone anymore. I'll be better to you than I ever was to Sonic."

"Miles…" Shadow gave him some sort of hybrid between a frown and a smile. His half-lidded eyes gave the fox a warm, hopeful feeling. He looked concerned and unsure, but Miles could tell the feeling was mutual between them, whether it was intentional or not. He'd known that for a long time. A pause passed by and Shadow asked: "Are you sure?"

"Come on." Miles replied as he took the other male's gloved hand and looked towards the east, beginning to walk as he spoke. "Let's get out of here."

"What about Sonic?"

Looking back at the mysterious hedgehog, Miles pulled out the letter Sonic had given him, the letter that brought him here in the first place. Not too shockingly, the words were gone, completely. It was now just a blank piece of paper.

"It all makes sense…"

"What?"

"You've been so kind to me," the blue-eyed kitsune began. "Helped me so much…even when I gave up hope, you encouraged me to go on. You saved me so many times, and I've never been able to return the favor…"

Shadow didn't know how to reply. His frown overpowered his smile. "Oh Miles…"

"I don't care about Sonic anymore." The fox said quick but calmly, pulling the hedgehog into another embrace. "I love _you_ now, Shadow. You're better than him. Please, let's go home. I have a nice little apartment; we can live happily ever after together and never have to hear the name Sonic or Sonic Hill ever again. I promise you, and I will keep that promise."

After another pause, Shadow finally replied: "…okay. Miles—"

"Tails." The fox interrupted as grabbed the hedgehog's hand and placed it on his furry colorless chest, reversing what Shadow had done when they first met. "Call me Tails."

Shadow gave him a warm, benign smile, similar to the smile Sonic had given him countless times in the past. "I love you too, Tails."

Tails smiled back, and for the third time since they had met, pulled the hedgehog into a deep, passionate kiss that seemed to last for an eternity. Their tongues danced together as the fox wrapped his two tails around Shadow's back, pulling them even closer to one another. A few moments later, they broke the kiss and stared upon each other.

"Come on," Tails breathed, a sense of hope and happiness in his heart. He knew that he was a liar, a whore, a coward. But that didn't matter, because he had Shadow now, and that was all he needed. His fingers laced themselves around Shadow's, and for the first time in a long time he felt that there really was a light at the end of that long tunnel. "Let's leave this place, forever."

"Right." Shadow nodded.

Holding each other's hands peacefully, Tails and Shadow left Sonic Hill.

------

How time will heal, make me forget

You promised me

Time will heal, make me forget

You promised me

Love will save us all

And time will heal, you promised me

You promised me…

How love will save, make me forget

You promised me

Love will save, make me forget

You promised me

Time will heal us all, yeah

And love will save, you promised me

I trusted you, I wanted your word

Believed in you, I needed you words

Time will heal, make me forget

Yeah and love, love will save us all…

You promised me another wish, another way

You promised me another dream, another day

You promised me another time

You promised me another life

You promised me

You promised me

You promised me…

So I swallowed the shame, and I waited

I buried the blame, and I waited

Choked back years of memories…

Yeah, I pushed down the pain, and I waited

Trying to forget…

-inst.-

You promised me another wish, another way

You promised me another dream, another day

You promised me, another time

You promised me, another lie

Oh you promised me…

You promised me…

You promised me…

And I waited

And I waited

And I waited

And I'm still waiting…

"The Promise" – The Cure

------

-Clop…

-Clop…

-Clop…

-Clop…

The parking lot was just the same as he remembered, and Tails felt a strange sense of disorientation in seeing his car still parked on the corner next to the restroom where his long journey had begun a million years ago. That feeling faded fast, and he smiled to himself. His keys were still in his almost empty pockets now – one of the few remaining items he possessed since he discarded his weapons and bags earlier. It was the only thing he needed now, other than the beautiful hedgehog at his side. Producing them from his pocket, he glanced again at Shadow's sexy form standing beside him and slid the metal into the slot, turning and opening the passenger door. He gestured for the other furry to step in. Shadow took a step forward, but before he could enter the car he lurched forward and let out an unsettlingly harsh cough. It was a dry, throaty cough.

Tails jumped a bit in response to the abrupt sound, feeling a huge wave of distraught overcome him for a split second. But he regained his senses and comfortingly placed his hand on Shadow's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." the black hedgehog said, looking up at him without signs of distress in his eyes any longer. "Just a cold I guess; this place is freezing."

Laughing lightly, the kitsune felt more than little silly. It really wasn't a big deal. The place was freezing, not to mention unsanitary. It wasn't unlikely that one of them had caught a cold or something along the way. Yeah, that was all – everything was a-okay. Either way though, he was sure to go to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning after they get home, and maybe a psychiatrist while he's at it. Patting Shadow on the back, Tails Prower smiled nervously.

"We'd better take care of that cough…"


	32. Ending II: Ritual

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Ending II: Ritual

------

'**_Speak. I am the Crimson One. The lies and the mist are not They but I. You all know that I am the One. Yes, and the One is I. Believers hearken to me! Twenty score souls and seven thousand beasts. Heed my words and speaketh them to all, that they shall ever be obeyed even under the light of the proud and merciless sun. I shall bring down bitter vengeance upon thee and thou shalt suffer my eternal wrath. _**

The beauty of the withering flower and the last struggles of the dying soul, they are my blessings. Thou shalt ever call upon me and all that is me in the place that is silent. Oh, proud fragrance of life which flies towards the heart. Oh Cup, which brims with the whitest of whine, it is in thee that all begins.

Lautir. Lautir. Lautir. Chaos reigns here.'

—_Book of Lost Memories, Chapter 22, Page 481: "Crimson Ceremony"_

-------

(_now i understand_)

The deep cold water of Lake Toluca resisted, but the tiny rowboat traveled across its surface slowly. Closer and closer he came to his final destination, Oshimai Island. It could be seen from the map; standing almost exactly in the middle of the lake, but he'd never gone there before. No one had. It was just a barren lonely island in the middle of the large mass of water, nothing of interest really. It did make a nice tourist photo, but that was all the importance it had to the lucky souls who had the chance to live free of the truth. No one would have ever suspected the evils which grew there…

And no one would have ever suspected a small town like this one would mean so much, would contain so much

(_sin_)

all along.

The water softly waved back and forth, rocking the boat around, but Miles Prower still kept control.

'_I can save him…_'

The island wasn't very far now. The fog blocked his view, but he knew it was near. He could feel its

(_its sin its horror its pain_)

presence. Only about twenty meters ahead, maybe a little more. The time it took to get there didn't really matter – he would row forever if he had to. Time didn't matter, pain didn't matter, fear didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

Only _he_ mattered.

"Sonikku…" the fox spoke in a dry voice, a slightly dazed and insane look on his gritty face. "You look so peaceful…"

(_sin sonic hill all began_)

"Forgive me for waking you…"

(_the shadow no more no more oh please bring the real back_)

"But without you, I just can't go on…"

(_never again never again never again_)

"I can't live without you, Sonic…"

(_forever we shall_)

"This town, Sonic Hill…"

(_sonic hill sonic hill found another flesh kill_)

"The old gods still haven't left this place…"

(_chaos the one his secret name_)

"And they still grant power to those who venerate them…"

(_forever his_)

"Power to defy even death…"

(_no more no more sonic no more_)

The boat's journey came to a slow end as it finally reached the shoreline. It tipped slightly to the left when it reached the small sandy beach, where Miles climbed out of it. He silently wondered if all this was real, truly his reality. It could be just some horrible nightmare—it sure felt like it—but he wasn't sure if he even wanted to wake up in the now dull and gray world he knew before this happened, after his lovers' death. That world just didn't seem worth waking up for.

But in nightmares, you don't feel pain.

Yet still, how could he know if this thing in particular was real? The book was found in a museum, but it might have just been a little fairy tale…

'_No._' he told himself. '_This has to be real too. Everything else was._'

The book had contained everything. It was hard to believe only about two or three days ago, he was a lonely young fox who thought his love had died of a disease a long time ago.

(_oh what a lie_)

Only about a day or two ago, he had thought it was some sort of nightmare he could possibly escape; leave the town and live happily ever after with the beautiful hedgehog he had come to love in his lifetime.

(_!oh what a lie!_)

And only a few hours ago he had thought he could play the role of the hero and bravely rescue his love from the dark tower in the hotel. Maybe set things to end well for them both…

(_!!!LIESLIESLIES!!!_)

It was a lie, all of it. He couldn't believe he once thought he had even the slightest chance of leaving the place. He was meant to die here. Everyone drawn to Sonic Hill was.

(_but you were not sonikku you were innocent oh so innocent_)

----

The weakened twigs that were his frail legs felt like they'd collapse at any moment. He knew that ache, that weakness mortals were forced to face, wouldn't last much longer though. Everyone else was dead—other than Amy, but she truly wasn't supposed to be in a place like this anyway—and he knew he'd soon be dead too.

'_But Sonic…_'

Sonic didn't do anything wrong. He didn't deserve to die such a horrible death; he didn't deserve to suffer…

'_And I promise you, Sonic, you will be spared…_'

The stone steps he had been walking up finally ended. It was a small hill, but the strength it took to navigate it wasn't very plentiful in his body. That same ache focused everywhere on his body, leaving it to feel null in a strange way.

The ritual grounds lie ahead.

'_Power to defy even death…_'

---

More hours passed, and he was ready. The performance was successfully coming together. All the supplies needed were obtained: the White Chrism, the Obsidian Goblet, the book, all of them. Red paint had already been applied to the dirty-white fur on his face; the Book of Lost Memories lay open before him, and the goblet now drunken of its bright white liquid was in his hand.

"_Lautir…Lautir…Lautir…_" he called into the air in a chant-like tone. "Chaos. I call thy name. An exchange, I beg of you, an exchange of souls. I'm yours, for eternity; damn me to the sacred grounds you walk upon. Your power—no, this town—shall grow stronger. Stronger still, for the day that your flesh awakens once again. The world shall burn, and you shall rule. I'll be yours. All this…for Sonikku. Bring him back to life! Take me instead! Chaos, my lord!"

A strange, slightly insane smile formed on his dry lips as he realized he had become a Satanist.

"_Take me instead…_" he repeated in a soft whisper.

The sacred grounds were simple. A wide open cradle with the mark of Chaos carved into the center of it: a triangle within a circle, strange lettering surrounding its interior. The same symbol was engraved onto the Book of Lost Memories, and in the prison cell, not to mention the hotel lobby's center. There were a few dead trees

(_oh no more until death_)

surrounding the area; their tops peaked out over the rocky brown wall around the place's perimeter. From afar, it looked like just a normal hill on a small island. But when standing there, it became pretty apparent that it was another one of Sonic Hill's many ritual grounds, the gates to

(_heaven? hell?_)

Chaos's home.

'_No one would ever suspect…_'

"Chaos! I call thy name!"

—_Cling…cling…cling…_

"I pray for my death!"

—_Cling! Cling! Cling!_

"_I call thy name!!!_"

—_CLANG-DE-BOOM!_

Echoing, then silence.

He felt weary.

(_oh not over yet_)

Now there was only one thing left to do. One

(_sacrifice_)

final thing

(_a soul for a soul_)

before it all ends.

His tainted blue eyes narrowed. He hadn't really thought about _how_ he'd do it until now. He'd need to draw blood, lots of blood, along with his soul to bring his love back to life…

(_rouges knife oh yes i still have it_)

Subconsciously, Miles pulled the large shiny blade out of his side-pack and held it in front of his face. How ironic that Eggman and Rouge had actually helped him get to this point, even after he tried so hard to stop them. Like that suicidal batgirl—and he himself too—had earlier, he stared into his own distorted reflection on its luster. Moats of lava surrounded his crimson-cracked eyes. Cuts covered his once resplendent happy face, most of which didn't balance out his physical and mental pain in the least bit. Maybe in a few seconds, the balance would be perfected. Just maybe.

The fox slowly raised the knife into the air, the deadly tip of the weapon pointing towards the ground. He felt ashamed to admit it, but he felt nervous. It was still so hard to do this; even when you lost everything and wanted to die, that frustrating glimmer of hope or wonder or worry wouldn't die before you. It wasn't easy to give up entirely. What if the ritual didn't work? What if Chaos had just cheated him? What if—

(—_no what ifs its over no one is going to save me but i can bring you back love_)

He grasped the knife tightly and shut his eyes.

(_anything for sonikku_)

With that, he plunged the blade into his chest, rewarding himself with the sickening crack of the metal entering his weakened body. He felt, actually _felt _it pierce his heart, and was surprised at how long it too for his body to actually react. After what seemed like an eternity dripping with anticipation, the pain finally sunk in like a heavy iron-filled bullet. Unbearable pain, but more of an awkward feeling of actually having the foreign object inside his chest.

(_oh pain never felt so good_)

In that instant, a strange noise echoed throughout the entire town. A murmur in the distance, a demonic

(_chaos…_)

voice. Then, blue light flashed all around the ritual grounds, stealing his eyesight for a moment before returning it remorsefully. A figure appeared in front of him out of the light, as if it came from another dimension.

It was him.

(_!sonikku!_)

Sonic stood only a few feet before the fox, a confused and scared look on his still-beautiful young face. He stared down at his clean, gloved hands in shock, as amazed at his return to the living world as Miles was. He looked exactly the same as he did three years ago; his dark blue fur, his innocent but now scared emerald green eyes, his soft tan skin…

"I'm…alive…?" Sonic whispered, shaking slightly as he continued to stare at his hands.

Miles tried to smile, but he was too tired to. Too tired to even move. Sonic looked up, and the fear in his eyes turned to pure terror.

"_Tails!!_"

He felt dizzy, very dizzy. The weariness was overwhelming, mixing in with the pain and dizziness in a mix of extreme disorientation. Before he knew it, his legs failed him, and he was on the ground. The knife was almost all the way into his chest; its hilt resting only an inch away from his bloodstained fur. He felt Sonic's shaking hands grab onto him as the hedgehog kneeled down before him and held him close like a panicked mother.

"No! Tails! What have you done!? Why!?" his blue love cried, cradling the fox closely. Tears streamed down his divine face, similar to how the crimson flowed continuously out of the fox's decimated chest. Miles tried to speak, but only a small squeak escaped his lips. He was fading fast.

(_fading…fading…fading…_)

"Tails! Please don't leave me again! This wasn't supposed to happen! Why'd y—"

Sonic's lips continued to move rapidly, but the dying fox couldn't hear it anymore. Seconds seemed like hours; his body was slowly shutting down. Almost all his senses, if not gone already, were moments from disappearing too. If he had any breath left, he'd hold it, just to see his love for a moment longer.

(_sonikku…youre alive…_)

He was never so tired in his entire life, but he felt it was far past worth it. With that thought in mind, his eyelids slowly began to descend, closing for the final time.

(_youre alive…)_

They shut.

(_…i love you sonikku…_)

------

------

Give me a reason to believe that you're gone

I see your shadow, so I know they're all wrong

Moonlight on the soft brown earth, it leads me to where you lay

They took you away from me, but now I'm taking you home

I will stay forever here with you, my love

The softly spoken words you gave me…

Even in death, our love goes on

Some say I'm crazy for my love…mmm…my love (my love…)

But no bonds can hold me from your side…mmm…my love

They don't know you can't leave me

They don't hear you singing to me

I will stay forever here with you, my love

The softly spoken words you gave me…

Even in death, our love goes on

And I can't love you anymore than I do…

-inst.-

I will stay forever here with you, my love

The softly spoken words you gave me…

Even in death, our love goes on

And I can't love you anymore than I do…

"People die, but real love is forever."

"Even in Death" - Evanescence


	33. Ending III: Forever

**Sonic Hill 2: DX **

**Ending III: Forever**

------

The vibrant thud of his heart beat in his chest lightly. If the hotel's layout were anywhere close to what it used to be, he'd probably be hovering over the icy lake by now. Wooden paneling cracked and creaked under his red-and-white shoes, which were encrusted with the remains of the various things he'd walked on and over during the past few days. His paw feet, confined within the shoe's slick interior, felt as if they stood within small pits of lava – the pain was very prominent, yet so nonchalant by now it barely phased him anymore. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt any longer – only time could heal it, unlike too many things he'd already experienced.

'_Almost over…_'

That was his remaining hope: that somehow it'd all end for him soon. There was nowhere else to go, so what lie ahead must be the only place he's meant to go before…before…

'_Before I can rest._'

Miles's long jog ended when the behemoth steel doors presented themselves in the strong flashlight's beam not very far ahead. While intimidating, the handles budged after a little strain, and he managed to slowly turn them and push the set of metal forward, opening it into a bright grim area outside. Any usual soul wandering around wouldn't be phased by the bleak "light" the fog gave off, but for Miles whose eyes had already adjusted to the darkness had to cover his face for a moment before blinking and regaining his lurched composure.

The catwalk, the one he stood on now, looked treacherous. If there were a hole or dead end or something, he'd fall into whatever lie below before he even knew it. And considering how dead quiet it was, the bottom didn't seem to be anywhere nearby. Just fog, more and more fog. A staircase revealed itself eventually, tiny holes lining its surface from which you could see dots of the fog below it. Soft dull clinks emitted from the floor as his feet made contact with it, which combined with the even softer sounds of the rifle, katana, and bags he carried like dead weight as they shook and flung themselves onto his aching body and back from momentum. They stopped, along with the fox, when he reached the top. To his surprise, that wasn't the end of the stairs at all – now they led back down into the depths of the gray.

Letting out brief breaths for air, he began to descend, jogging down the stairs for a short period of time before reaching another stairway leading up. Bad construction design, but things like this didn't have to make sense in a place like the one he was in now. Without even slowing down, he began to run up the second set of ascending metal.

The end was in sight.

He stared in awe at the structure the stairs led to. It looked like a building of some sort, but there were no signs of any doors or windows at all. If it was a building, then this must be the roof. A chain-link fence surrounded the place, confining the rather beautiful interior from complete view. Vines and moss grew along the small stumps of what used to be brick walls inside, contrasting with the deserted area around them.

Or maybe it wasn't deserted after all, the fox quickly noticed. In the center of the arena stood Shadow, his dark fur contrasting just as much with the drained grayness of the arena as the walls and vines did. Dull realization hit the fox; his mouth split open a bit by a discreet gasp.

"Shadow…" he whispered.

The same devilish grin he'd seen when they first met appeared on the hedgehog's face. "Welcome back, Tails."

"How are you h—" Miles stopped himself in mid sentence. Silence ticked between them, until it was broken again by his depression-laced words. "…nevermind. Shadow, it's time to end this."

"Yeah, let's leave this place." Shadow agreed arrogantly, taking a step forward.

Something less than kindness shined in his tone, jolting the fox into a backward step. "No." For the millionth time, he dragged his fingers across his scalp nervously.

Shadow's legs glided across the floor with a smoothness that Miles would have found both impressive and attractive in any other situation. But he knew what was really going on now, thus replacing his admiration with feelings of forlorn. Shadow wrapped his arms gracefully around the miserable furry, annihilating the distance between them and pulling him closer. Leaning forward, he whispered sensually into his ear: "I know you want me. That's why you're here. I'm yours; just say the word." He grinned widely again. "You can keep me, Tails; take me fore—"

The confidence in the sexy hedgehog's eyes faded away in less than a second, a gasp escaping his lips this time.

-_BANG!_

"_Aaahh!!_" For a moment, his skin too seemed to pale, as terrified and pained realization hit him just as hard as the bullet now buried in his stomach did. His body tensed up, standing erect before he began to fall. His back hit the ground, leaving him to stare up at Miles bewildered.

"Don't call me that…" Miles whispered, lowering the handgun and placing it back in his side-pack.

"It wasn't…it's not…" Shadow croaked, his expression of betrayal shining like a new searchlight. "Not supposed to end th…th—" His head fell limp on the floor, followed soon afterwards by his bloodstained body. The newborn bullet hole in his stomach seeped blood out unto the uninviting concrete.

"Sayonara, Shadow." Miles whispered coldly. A little guilt grew strong enough to admonish him of its presence, but only a little. Distantly, he gazed up at the colorless sky, closing his eyes in thought for a moment, and—

-

When he opened them, he was no longer in the strange arena, standing before Shadow's lifeless corpse. Instead, he was now in a very very familiar place. Somewhat clean blue shag carpeting coated the floor in its warm fuzz, un-whiningly carrying the contents of the room on its back. Across from the double bed a few feet to his left was an old TV set, which stood beside a black shelf full of random junk and pictures. A photograph of himself and Sonic stood proudly on the nightstand, bleakly depicting memories of the past which he'd never wanted to forget, unlike many. Parallel to where he stood—by the door—there was a large gritty window, which normally would show the city streets outside. But on this occasion, the outside world didn't exist. Instead there was only plain white nothingness.

It was his bedroom.

Sonic lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with an ashen but somehow relaxed expression upon his beautiful face. The dark gray covers concealed the percentage of his body, but from his light-skinned chest on up was visible. He looked almost dreamlike, lying there for the first time in so long before Miles. Seeing his amazing emerald eyes calmed the tension binding the fox's body enough to let him move again.

Miles took a few steps closer to him and sat in the chair beside the bed. It was the same spot where he had suffocated him to death months, not years, earlier. Opening his mouth before even knowing what to say, Miles spoke in little more than a whisper.

"Sonikku…"

"Tails-chan…" Sonic whispered back, right before he curled his hand into a fist, put it to his mouth, and let out that same horrible dry, throaty cough that his lacerated throat had emitted countless times in the past three years. A moment of recovery passed, and he spoke again. "I've been waiting for so long…"

"I'm so sorry for what I did…forgive me…"

"I told you I wanted to die, Tails." The melancholy ease of Sonic's words was ardently sincere. "I wanted the pain to end."

"No…that's not entirely true. You did want your pain to end, but…" Miles tore his gaze away from Sonic and shamefully stared down at the covers, trying his best not to cry anymore. Small streams of tears managed to escape his eyes, but that was all that broke through. Knowledge of reality, of truth, was painful to accept. "The real truth is…part of me hated you…you were sick for a long three years, Sonic. You were taking my life away…"

Sonic coughed again, the agitated pain in his mouth becoming more apparent. The fox tried to ignore it – in the short time he had left, he didn't want to focus on what lie ahead in his bleak future.

"It was selfish of me," Miles continued despairingly. "We were both so miserable, I couldn't stand it anymore...that's why I took your life. I don't deserve to live for that."

"You killed me, and you've suffered for it. It's enough." The blue hedgehog said in a surprisingly kind and accepting tone, right before he coughed harshly again. A weak half-hearted smile formed on his lips. "Thank you for coming all this way, Tails. I really appreciate it…You have no idea how sorry I am for having to bring you through all this, but I couldn't let you live a lie forever."

Speechless, Miles sniffled and looked back into Sonic's weary eyes. The other male cracked a second small smile and reached beside him, pulling out a thin piece of paper from underneath the covers. Carefully, he placed the letter in Miles's hands, drawing his own away for a third sickeningly dry cough. This time though, a series of coughs followed, ending four croaks later.

"Getting hard to breathe again…" Pain was etched on his regretful face as he shook his head and cleared his throat.

"Sonikku…" Miles whispered, distraught. Taking Sonic's hand, he gently placed it on his own furry cheek longingly. Sonic's hands were pleasantly lukewarm. His blurred slightly as tears overlapped Miles's eyes, and he spoke in a sorrowful pleading voice. "P-please…don't leave me alone again…"

"I'm sorry…" the blue hedgehog's voice was as weak as he felt now, and Miles could tell he wasn't going to be alive much longer. Peacefully feeling the warmth of the fox's face against his tender fingers, Sonic uttered the last words Miles ever heard him say: "I love you, Tails…I'll love you forever…"

A small rattle of breath escaped his lips: the last one he'd ever have. Sonic's eyelids slid back into place, shutting his mind and sight off from the word for the final time. His hand fell limp on the Miles's ashen face, dead.

"No…Sonikku…"

Droplets of warm, salty tears streamed more rapidly through his dirty white fur and onto the bed sheets; his love was really gone now. And he knew this time there was no coming back. Head bent low, Miles's breaking voice whispered ever so softly.

"_I love you too…_"

Slowly he lowered Sonic's bare hand back onto the bed beside him, leaning forward and kissing the hedgehog on the forehead just like he had a long time ago. With tender and gentle care, he picked his boyfriend's lifeless corpse up into his arms. The dead weight strained his weak muscles, but he didn't care. Things like that no longer seemed in the least bit important to him now. Holding Sonic's hollow shell of a body close, he stared longingly up at the ceiling and continued to weep.

He was alone.

---------

---------

_Parlami_

_Il tuo silenzio guarda dentro_

_Non resisterò _

_E un attimo,_

_Nel tuo vuoto sento che_

_Io non ce la farò _

_Walk on by_

_You walk on by_

_Walk on by_

_Wondering why…_

_Wandering from you_

_Falling at your side_

_Wandering from you_

_Healing my desire_

_Stumble in your soul_

_Give yourself to me_

_Hurting your desire_

_Healing mine_

_Slegami_

_Dal mio rimorso, sei diverso_

_Mentre muoio e poi risorgo dentro te_

_Flinchè vivrò_

_Ricordarti cosælt;/i>_

_Sarà una colpa eterna su di me_

_Walk on by_

_You walk on by_

_Walk on by_

_Wondering why…_

_Wandering from you_

_Falling at your side_

_Wandering from you_

_Healing my desire_

_Stumble in your soul_

_Give yourself to me_

_Hurting your desire_

_Healing mine_

_Healing mine_

_(Stumble in your heart again…)_

_Healing mine_

_(Give yourself to me…)_

_Healing mine_

_(Stumble in your heart again…)_

_Healing mine…_

**_"Comalies" – Lacuna Coil_**

_---------_

_---------_

_'I wonder what I was afraid of._

_Without you, Sonikku, I have nothing…_

_I just can't go on anymore…_

_But that's okay; it all finally makes sense to me._

_Now I know the real reason I came to this town…'_

_-_

Pinned under the windshield wiper was a paper: Sonic's real letter. Licensee plate number '440KN9' hung on the back bumper as Miles opened the driver's door of his car and sat back in the seat again, immediately slumping his head back on the dirty window. His grim eyes gazed outside at the dark trees swaying in the calm wind not too far away. The distant sound of water splashing against rock was heard far off. Sonic's body lay wrapped in a warm blue blanket in the back seat, a peaceful expression on his now lifeless pale face.

'_I've come all this way…_'

(_…i killed him i loved him i killed him we were so happy together i killed him now im all alone…_)

'_Maybe this way we can be together……though that's probably just wishful thinking. I know, if there is an afterlife beyond this towns grasp, I won't be going to the same place as you anyway. I wish I could believe otherwise._'

(_alone_)

'_But there will be no salvation, no forgiveness…words cannot express how sorry I am for what I've done, my love…_'

Miles turned around; his pained eyes glanced at the hedgehogs beautiful face, blurred by his tears. How he longed to see happiness, and life, within his love's face. But both those blissful joys were forever gone. He caressed Sonic's delicate and cold hand lovingly, then kissed it softly before lowering it back down onto the seat.

(_sonikku_)

The fox slowly placed his head back on the window, staring back at the cold world outside the tomb of his car before bursting into tears again. He cried; cried harder, louder, and more emotionally than he ever had in his entire life. It was far too much to hold in, and he didn't care how shameful his pathetic and lonely death would be. His world was no longer gray, but now a saddened dark blue, darker than that of both his own eyes and Sonic's soft, dead fur.

He'd lost everything. His love, his life…

(_it all comes to this_)

'_And now it all ends…_'

Gravel cracked under the weight of the tires as the car moved backwards in reverse, stopping about twelve feet away. Though it was hard to see through the blurred and stinging tears in his eyes along with the dirt tinted windshield, the cliffs' edge was about twenty feet away. It overlooked Lake Toluca. If he recalled, it was about a fifty-foot drop down into the cold murky water where the souls of Sonic Hill rested; where he too would soon rest.

Was the fear of death so important now? Maybe some did fear it, but others, like him, prayed for it.

Letting out one last, long cry, he floored the accelerator. With a harsh screech from the tires, the vehicle zoomed forward at incredible speeds. Miles lay his head on the left side of his seat, peering into Sonic's reflection in the rearview mirror as the vehicle they were in quickly moved closer and closer to the lake in its last run.

'_Goodbye, Sonikku…_'

The car flew off the cliff's edge, descending downwards much slower than thought possible into the murky waters below. Miles Prower's last thought before hitting the surface was that of regret. Regret for all that he'd done, all that had happened. Regret that he'd never see his love again.

-_SPLASH!_

And the car sunk deeper and deeper, filling up with the ice cold liquid and sucking out all the oxygen immediately as it continued its short journey to the bottom of the lake. He knew he would soon join the souls at the lake's bottom too; suffering, burning forever for the sins he had committed. No one would know how truly sorry he was. No one would know he'd come here at all. Perhaps that too was for the best.

As the vehicle reached the bottom—its windows cracked, its metal walls dented—Miles Prowerstill lay in the front seat with his eyes closed, waiting for his impending death. His soul and body began to fade into the eternal sleep, soon to be drifting through The Abyss of hell with the many other lost souls of Sonic Hill.His exhausted minduttered one final word, before the end of his everything…

(_forever_)


	34. Ending IV: Promise

**Sonic Hill 2: DX **

**Ending IV: Promise**

------

"_Sonic…_"

The series of creeks and cracks in the ground ended their short lifespan when Miles halted in surprise at what he'd just heard. Was that his own voice? It came from all directions, as if an echo carried it up and down the corridor. But he had not spoken; he must just be hearing things…

"_What do you want, Tails?_"

Another voice confirmed that what he was hearing truly was real. At least as real as the demons and places he'd gone to in the town could appear to be. This voice was Sonic's. He sounded bothered, annoyed…

"_I…uh…I brought you some flowers…_"

His own high male voice again. Miles's eyes widened as he realized the strange recording of the conversation was undeniably familiar. Staying put, he continued to listen in.

"_Flowers!?_" The shock in Sonic's tone carried a shadow of irritation. "_I don't want any goddamn flowers! Just go home already!_"

"_But Sonic, I don't want to leave you…_"

"_Look! I'm disgusting!_" Sonic was screaming now. His irritation matured into full-fledged anger. "_I don't _deserve_ flowers! Between the disease and the drugs, I look like a monster! Well, what are you looking at!? Get the hell out of here! Leave me alone already! I'm no use to you anymore!_"

The fox bit his lip, remembering how miserable and unhappy Sonic had really become over the three-year course of time he'd been sick…

"_I'll be dead soon anyway…maybe today, maybe tomorrow…_" he continued much more discreetly. "_It'd be easier if you just…if you just _killed_ me……But I guess the hospital is making a nice little profit off of me. They want to keep me alive…_" Another pause, and his anger returned. "_…are you still here!? I told you to go! What, are you deaf!? Don't come back!!_"

Footsteps.

"_Tails…wait…please don't go…stay with me…_" Rather than cold and angry, Sonic's tone morphed into the exact opposite. His pleading voice cried with despair and sorrow - sobs of regret were no longer masked behind the veil of his tone. "_Don't leave me alone! I didn't mean what I said! Please, Tails……tell me I'm going to be okay. Tell me I'm not going to die……Tails, help me………I don't wanna die…_"

Silence.

"Sonikku…" The present Miles whispered. It seemed he hadn't truly remembered everything he'd repressed from his mind after all. That time in the hospital…that was the last time he'd spoken to Sonic before the hedgehog came back home. And shortly after he got home he…he…

Pushing back the memories, restraining them behind the wall of rational thought, the fox stared ahead. The dark corridor he was in had no signs of an end, but there had to be one somewhere ahead. It was the only place he could go now.

What followed was a minute long walk, and then a gigantic set of steel doors which he proceeded to enter. Not too surprisingly, they didn't lead to the docks outside, but instead to catwalk overlooking a large foggy plain. As far as he could tell, there was no ground, ceiling, or walls anywhere near the place, just empty space. As he ascended the staircase which revealed itself a few feet ahead, Miles began to wonder where the hell he was now. Still in the hotel? Floating above the lake? Lost somewhere in time and space?

'_I'm in Sonic Hill._' He thought to himself complacently. '_That's all I need to know._'

He ran, ascending the metallic steps much to the dismay of his legs, which felt like they'd cave in at any moment. The top of the stairs came into view pretty quickly, or at least it seemed like it had. Once he reached the top, he was surprised to see the metal flooring now lead back down into the depths of the fog. Slightly frustrated, the tired fox ran down the new path. Another change in direction appeared twenty-two seconds later – the stairs lead back up again. Without even slowing down to consider why it was built that way, Miles ran back up the final set of stairs.

Like the streets of South Vale, the air was chilly and frigid, but it created a rather comforting feeling against his damp fur. Cold, but relaxing in a strange sort of way. The tension coursing through his veins thinned only by a small amount – he was a little afraid of what lie ahead. Definitely not too afraid to turn away, but still afraid.

A gate revealed itself from above, surrounding the perimeter of a large square platform suspended in the sky. The metal stairs disappeared behind him as he continued his jog, though he had not noticed it at all, his thoughts were directed towards what the platform was for. It looked like the roof of an abandoned and crumbled building. Small forms of brick were in random places – the remains of a possible top floor, he guessed. Moss and vines clung to a few of the false walls, creating a beautiful scene. The chain-link gating served as the platform's walls, leaving Miles with no escape once he pushed the gated door open and stepped in.

Only one part of the place's perimeter wasn't made out of chain-link fencing: a small section of more brick walling in the back. A window was in that wall, framing the nothingness beyond the building. Standing at that window was a very very familiar figure, who's spiny back faced the fox as he thoughtfully peered out the window.

"…Sonic?"

The hedgehog turned around.

"When will you ever stop making that mistake?" Shadow asked. "Sonic's dead. You killed him."

Miles's jaw dropped open in utter shock. "Shadow!?"

Like twice before, Shadow had neither a scratch nor a fur out of place on his sexy lean body. His dark eyes held a look of knowing satisfaction on them, which matched perfectly with the newborn smirk on his divine lips. Moving with almost ghostlike grace, he took a step forward. Miles took a step back in response.

"But…I don't _need _you anymore…" the two-tailed fox said aghast, without taking any effort to hide the extreme confusion that entangled him.

"What?" Shadow raised an eyebrow. Now it was his time to be surprised. "But I can still be yours. Just say the word."

"No…" Miles whispered, talking more to himself than the black hedgehog this time.

"But I'll never yell at you, or make you feel bad! That's what you wanted!" Shadow stated quickly, sounding like he was trying hard not to lose his cool as he continued his invasion of the other furry's space. He wrapped his arms around Miles's orange-furred neck and pulled him close. "I'm different from Sonic."

Seconds ticked by, in which Miles considered what was really going on here. He came up with a decision and placed his hands against the furry white patch on Shadow's chest gently, right before he shoved him hard and sent the hedgehog stumbling backwards. "I don't love you, Shadow."

The look of betrayal on the hedgehog's eyes gave Miles a tiny jolt of guilt, which dissipated the moment Shadow's weakness turned into frustrated anger. "You think you can just _throw me away_!?"

"You're not Sonic." Miles replied grimly.

"It's always Sonic!" Shadow exclaimed. "Sonic this, Sonic that! He really _is_ all you give a fuck about, huh!? I was right! Well you should get it right too, Tails: _He's dead!! You killed him!!_"

"But I still love him…"

"Well you can't! You _don't_! You fell in love with me! Ever since we met!"

"Yes…maybe that's true…" Miles looked down at the floor sadly, hating to admit what in some ways may actually be true between them. "I thought I fell in love with you, but it was wrong. I was just confused. I don't love you anymore, Shadow. I realized…" He trailed off, then glared back at the hedgehog. "Sonic and I were meant to be, forever! Not you, you…you _faker_! I will _never _betray him like that again!!"

"You fucking _killed_ him!" Shadow rolled his eyes. "You keep going on and on…I'm better than him! You _know_ that!"

"But you're still not him."

"Come on, Tails…" he scoffed. "You must be joking."

Miles clenched his fists, feeling the heat of his rage reach its boiling point"_I don't love you!! I love Sonic! That's why I came here!_"

"_No!!_" Shadow screamed, sounding all the more enraged. "_I won't let you!! I'll _never_ let you have Sonic back!!!_"

-**_BOOM!_**

Something invisible seemed to collide head on with Miles, sending him flying backwards and landing on the hard cement. He let out a small yelp of pain as his wound scraped against the ground, but was too shocked by the sudden attack to feel its full effect. Shadow suddenly seemed blurred and hazy as Miles stared back at him. The fox shook his head and blinked repeatedly, flabbergasted at what he saw. A large ray of dark purple energy surrounded the hedgehog, tinting his jet-black fur an even darker color.

"What…?"

The hedgehog's crimson eyes seemed to glow as he began to hover a few inches off the ground, defying the laws of gravity. He stared at the wounded fox through the black energy and opened his mouth to speak. It was no longer his attractive baritone voice that emitted from his throat. Instead, a horrifyingly distorted and demonic one replaced it.

"_YOU DESERVE TO DIE TOO TAILS!!!_"

Miles trembled with fear, rising to his feet, as an insanely loud crack was heard, followed by an even louder scream of agony from the other male.

"_Ahhhhhhh-AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!_" Every bone in his spiny body seemed to break in and out of place rapidly, causing more pain than Miles could even fathom he was feeling. Somehow, still through the wall of hurt, Shadow grinned widely. "_Hahahahahaha! Burn in hell, Tails! Tails! Tails! Burn in hell, Tails! Tails! Tails!_"

The fox stepped back, his tiny voice shaking along with his body. "N-no…"

Balls of black light formed out of the air around Shadow. At the same time, his own fur began to change color, turning from deep black into a vibrant silver before his very eyes, while the red marks aligning his whacked-out spikes remained the same. The brick walling around him crumbled, unable to withstand the electronic field of pure energy surrounding his blood-soaked body. Miles took a few more steps back, his horrified gaze fixed on Shadow's transformation. A loud, high-pitched bug-like noise bellowed from every direction, only adding to the madness, as the black balls of light around the hedgehog began to form into…into…

Moths?

Old, gray, dead moths, which fluttered around the silver hedgehog whose body once housed the soul of what Miles thought to be his friend.

"_TAILSTAILSTAILS!!!_" Shadow's demonic voice screamed. Flames shot out of the bottom of his shoes, and he began to rise up into the air, suspended ten feet in front and above the terrified fox. An insane sharp-toothed grin formed on his lips, and he let out another horrible roar.

"Shadow…"

A ball of fire formed in the hedgehog's palm, seemingly growing off of absolutely nothing until he thrust his right hand forward and sent the fireball into a kamikaze dash towards the fox. Instincts kicked in in the nick of time. Miles jumped to the left, barely managing to miss the burning ball of death, and felt the heat push him into the ground a few feet away as the concrete behind him exploded into flames. Letting out a small cry of pain, he jumped up and sprinted across the room in a panic. More fireballs trailed behind him, followed by a groan of disappointed annoyance from the demonic hedgehog above.

Something hard hit him in the back, sending him sprawling out onto the ground. As he hit the floor for the second time he looked behind him and almost let out a shriek when he saw Shadow standing not too far away, a maniacal smirk on his face. How could he be that _fast_? Before he knew it, Miles was suspended in the air, croaking in pain as Shadow held him up by the neck.

"_Why do you still run, Tails!?_" Shadow asked, the original sound of his voice distorted beyond belief. "_You're meant to die here! You have nowhere else to go!_"

Last chance.

In one abrupt motion, Miles slammed his fist into Shadow's face. The result was an agonized scream that filled the silent air, followed by a loosening of the hedgehog's grip on his neck. Miles landed on the floor as Shadow stumbled backwards, making quick gasps of respiration. Blood gushed out of his mouth and the side of his face, where a single shiny blade rested stubbornly, carved almost all the way in and cutting deeply into his tongue.

"You fucking—"

Shadow's sentence was cut short when a loud roar rung out through the air. Sprinkles of more crimson flew out of his chest as the rifle shell pierced his heart and sent him flying backwards from the force of the blow. The shot would have killed any normal creature, but the silver hedgehog still stood. Frantically, Miles grabbed for another shell. He jammed it into the rifle's slot, but before he could even make another move he felt his enemy's fist contact his face, and he was flying backwards in another uncontrollable flip, which ended with him landing hard on his stomach.

A split second later, the hard surface of Shadow's boot smashed into his ribs, giving him another terrifying jolt of pain. The fox clutched his side and rolled over, saving his life in the process as Shadow's boot stomped on where his head was a moment earlier; cracking the cement like it was made out of unstable tile. Panic wrought, Miles jumped to his feet and ducked under another punch. Once he was clear of the attack, he jumped to his left and began sprinting away as fast as he could. Shadow followed close behind, zooming more than ten times faster than the terrified fox was. Luckily for Miles, he remembered this, and dived out of Shadow's indestructible path. The hedgehog flew past him and landed headfirst into one of the broken brick walls, causing the whole thing to collapse like building blocks.

The powerful being scrambled around, shaking brick off of him as he tried to get back to his feet. He looked up to stare down the barrel of Miles's rifle, and immediately thrust his own arm out and pushed the weapons sight down the very split second the fox squeezed the trigger. With an incredibly loud bang, a large new hole appeared in Shadow's stomach. Blood sprayed over both of them.

"Shit."

"_RRRRAAAAAHHHH!!!_"

Super Shadow sprung to his feet and full on slapped Miles across the face, sending the poor fox into yet another backward spiral. It felt like his cheekbones had broken right then and there, but he kept going. The tip of the weapon collided with the other furry's face when Miles spun back around with it pointed out. Shadow faulted a bit and grabbed onto the gun. The fox yanked it back, causing both of them to fall over. Shadow landed on top, and his lips brushed against Miles's lightly.

For that split second, it seemed just like the hospital a day earlier. When they were still allies. When they began to fall in love…

That moment faded quickly as blood and drool streamed down the hedgehog's lips and onto Miles's face. He immediately filed that thought for later and kicked Shadow in the gut, then thrust the rifle forward, knocking the rabid hedgehog off and onto the floor beside him. He jumped up and fired at Shadow's back, shuddering as scarabs of bloody flesh erupted from it.

Any other being would have been forever paralyzed if not dead by the blast, but Super Shadow got up like it only fazed him. Miles scrambled for one of his last shells and reloaded it quickly - he was getting very good at handling these weapons. Right when he did, he looked up to see Shadow grinning back at him insanely. Before he could even scream, Shadow grabbed onto both ends of the metallic weapon and smashed it into his neck. Miles stumbled backwards until his back hit a pillar of brick right behind him. Shadow pushed the rifle against his neck hard, cutting off all oxygen.

Miles tried to squeal, tried to scream, but he couldn't. He was already out of breath. He began to squirm around like a fish out of water, his terrified eyes staring into the other animal's insane ones.

"_Oh how I love to see you in pain…_" Shadow's tone was soaked with hatred, which did not contrast with the expression on his evil face.

Miles shut his eyes tightly and bit his lip.

(_no not like this not now_)

(_tails tails tails_)

(_no no no sonic help me i need_)

(_!tails tails tails!_)

(_you i cant give up i_)

(_!!!TAILSTAILSTAILS!!!_)

(_!i wont give up!_)

Miles grasped onto both ends of the rifle and pushed back with all his might, using a newly unlocked inner strength to push Shadow away. The surprised hedgehog almost fell over as he staggered backwards with the rifle in his hands.

Before he even knew what hit him, Miles slammed the katana into his right shoulder in a hard vertical swing. The blade wobbled a bit and almost threw the fox off balance, but he managed to make a very effective hit. The sheer force of the attack drove Shadow down to the floor, the sharp blade almost completely severing his arm. He screamed out in agony and Miles pulled the weapon out, creating a sickening slick sound.

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Shadow backflipped suddenly. The tip of his boot hit Miles and sent him too into a backwards flip. Amazingly, he landed on his feet, but almost fell over again before he realized his lucky landing. Shadow shot backward into the air, his eyes glowing with rage. Blood oozed out of the dozens of deep holes and cuts in his body.

All of the dead moths around him finally reacted and zoomed towards Miles. They coagulated into a swarm and began to violently bite away at his flesh and fur. The fox swung his arm around, trying to get them to stop biting him with no avail. Eventually, he pulled out his handgun and fired into the air. The tiny creatures backed off for a second, and then assaulted him a second time all together.

They all bit onto him at once and somehow lifted him into the air. He struggled to make them let go, but his efforts were futile. Super Shadow floated a few feet in front of him, his partially decimated face continuously grinning like a lunatic.

Horrified, Miles pointed the handgun at Shadow's face before he could grab him and opened fire. Shadow sidestepped out of the way nonchalantly, dodging the bullet like it was going much much slower than it actually was. In the time it took for him to dodge, Miles unsheathed the katana again and swung it horizontally. Shadow managed to move away fast enough to dodge the percentage of the attack, but it cut across his chest lightly still. This was enough to make him lose his concentration, and the moths let go, dropping Miles back onto the ground ten feet below.

The moment his feet hit the ground, he rolled into a summersault, dodging an array of fireballs from the supercharged hedgehog. Right when he got back to his feet, he shot up and ran across the room, not only hearing but also feeling the ground behind him explode from his enemy's attacks.

He spun around and stared up into the air just in time to see Super Shadow fire another ball of fire at him. Having no time to dodge anymore, he shoved the gun in his pocket and thrust his sword forward. The fireball hit the tip of the blade and split in half, sending two smaller balls of fire shooting past him and blowing up the ground behind him. Ever enraged, Shadow formed another ball in his hand and thrust it forward. It zoomed towards Miles at incredible speeds, but it wasn't enough. With lightning fast reflexes, Miles turned the katana sideward and swung it like a baseball bat. It connected with the fireball and sent it spinning in the opposite direction too fast for Shadow to even dodge. The hedgehog burst into flames when the ball hit him, and he fell to the ground screaming in agony.

Tatters of flesh and fur burned off of his body like ash as he hit the floor. Panting heavily, he looked up to stare down the barrel of Miles's handgun. Before he could even utter a word, Miles squeezed the trigger, and a bullet pierced Shadow's eye at point blank range, shooting right into his brain. A grenade exploded within Shadow's head, and he fell back down to the floor in a heap, blood and fragments of bone spraying all over both of them.

Miles had thought it was over for less than a second. To his surprise, Shadow jumped back up and swung a punch at his face, somehow still alive. Miles screamed and bent backwards, missing the hit by a few centimeters. The hedgehog immediately attacked again with an overhead kick, but the fox jumped into a backflip before he even knew what he was doing. Miles landed on his feet—shocked at what he'd just done. Shadow shot towards him like a speeding bullet, letting out a long loud battle cry. Adrenaline filling his veins and Miles unsheathed and thrust the katana completely forward. The tip of the blade pierced Shadow's chest like it was made out of cardboard, stopping him dead in his tracks. The fox then charged forward, pushing the stunned hedgehog back with the blade until they finally hit the gate at the end of the arena.

The blade cut right through Shadow, shooting out of the back and sticking outside of the gate like a pin. The most loud and agonizing scream Miles ever heard tore Shadow's mouth open. Fragments of his bloody, fleshy heart hung on the tip of the now crimson red sword. And then, all noise seemed to stop.

"I thought you cared about me…about us…" Pure hatred in his tone, Miles stared straight into the demonic hedgehog's eyes. "I was wrong…I know I'm partially to blame for that. After all, I'm the one who…who—"

"You'll burn in hell forever for what you've done." Shadow interrupted, a bloody-toothed grin on his face.

"And you'll cease to exist." The fox clutched the katana tightly. "All this, leading up till now…it makes sense, or at least as much as it can. Shadow…It's time to end this nightmare!"

With that, Miles pushed harder into the blade and twisted it violently. A sickening crack erupted from Shadow's decimated chest, and only more crimson red splattered over both of them. The hedgehog looked up into the air and screamed again, no longer the scared innocent one Miles remembered from the hospital, but now a surreal deformed and demonic cry of pain and anger the shattered the silence of the town.

Shadow's crimson red eyes stared back into Miles's azure blue ones for a moment, still holding that same disdain as before, until it morphed into a dazed and distant look, as if he was now looking through the fox rather than at him.

And then, they shut. Shadow mangled body reverted back to its original color and fell limp, hanging on the chain-link fence by the sword like a life-size rag doll.

It was over.

Miles let go of the handle and weakly stepped back. His fur was coated in a gallon of gore. His cuts burned, but that burning was nothing compared to the intense physical and mental trauma he felt. His whole body felt no longer like a bruise and now like one giant open wound. Finally able to catch his breath, he let out a few soft gasps of respiration before tearing his eyes away from the dead hedgehog's corpse for the final time.

"Sonikku…"

Warm, white light engulfed him, seeming to completely swallow him up. Staring up at the sky, he felt cool wind whirl around him rapidly, lifting him a few feet into the air.

And in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

------

------

Birds…

He could hear birds chirping in the distance alongside the steady, calm silence of wind.

Slowly, Miles Prower opened his eyes to see he was standing in a huge grassy green field. The peaceful melody created by the birds didn't seem to come from any exact location. Butterflies fluttered around small flower patches in random areas, creating beautiful and colorful scenery for him to admire. The sun was shining bright and young in the resplendent blue sky.

He was in the open field again, the same one he'd entered in that nightmare in the hospital oh so long ago…

The cuts, scrapes, scabs, and bruises covering his small tired body were still there, but the blood and gore was washed away, leaving him to look as clean and refreshed as he possibly could at the moment. Shutting his eyes again, the fox let out a comforted sigh. For the first time in ages, he felt at peace.

"A quiet, beautiful place…"

A steep green hill sat only about one hundred meters ahead. He smiled lightly, still feeling like he was going to pass out any second.

"Sonic…"

Slowly he walked towards the hill, his feet aching more than ever before. But he couldn't give up and fall, it was almost over. He climbed steadily up the mound of green, until he reached the top. A single bed rested there.

Sonic lay on that bed.

"This place sure is beautiful, huh?"

"Sonikku!!" Miles's dry voice yelled with joy as he ran up to the bed and sat on it, right beside the beautiful blue hedgehog that rested peacefully atop the covers.

"Tails-chan…I've been waiting for so long…" the hedgehog spoke calmly.

"Sonic, I'm so sorry! I took so long…I thought I fell in love with him and…oh god I'm so sorry!! I understand everything now: I was supposed to die here. It's my punishment for killing you." the fox cried, feeling the sting of more tears his eyes as he continued to ramble. Looking down on the light blue covers, he whispered. "I don't deserve to live for what I've done…"

Sonic looked at the fox with a sincerely sorrowful expression. "I told you I wanted to die; I wanted the pain to end."

"That's why I did it honey…I couldn't stand to watch you suffer—" Miles looked into his beautiful boyfriend's emerald green eyes, interrupting his own train of thought with a new one. "—_No!_ Wait! That's not true! Sonic…"

"Tails…"

"You also said you _didn't _want to die! The truth is…" Miles tore his eyes away shamefully again. "I hated you…I wanted you out of the way. We were both so miserable since the disease…you were taking away my life…"

Sonic smiled warmly. "If you really hated me, why did you always look so sad?"

"I…" the kitsune had no idea what to say.

"Part of you did, I know. I was always complaining and crying…I really did want to die – I was going to anyway. That's why I said I wanted to. If you killed me, I wouldn't have to suffer anymore."

"B-but…I was selfish…"

"No." The sharp spikes on the back of the hedgehog's head rested back on the wooden bed frame, but his eyes never left Miles's. "You came all this way, fought so hard, felt so much pain, even denied someone better than me…all so you could at least see me again. If you were selfish, if you hated me, you wouldn't come all this way."

The look of puzzlement on Miles's face was priceless, and Sonic couldn't help but smirk playfully at it. He was so cute, even at times like these, and that was just one thing on the incredibly long list of reasons he loved him. Since the fox was speechless, Sonic decided to continue.

"You loved me. You always did. You did what I asked you too. And you came all this way, just for me. You really cared all along…" he smiled again. "You don't deserve to die. Tails…you've been forgiven. I forgive you."

"But I don't understand…" Miles whispered. "How…"

"Promise me." Gently, the blue hedgehog pulled the glove off of Miles's right hand and placed a letter in his palm. Then, he folded the fox's fingers around it and kissed the surface of his bare hand lovingly. Sonic looked back up into Miles's azure blue eyes; Miles stared back into his emerald green ones. "Promise me you'll live on; you won't give up. Go on, take Amy as the daughter we never had and live a happy life. Please, for me. I love you Tails, and I want you to live happily."

Miles couldn't believe what he was hearing. He never expected his love to ever forgive him.

"Sonikku…"

"Tails-chan…"

Their faces steadily came closer, until their lips met in one long, deep, passionate kiss. For the first time since Sonic had died, Miles felt truly like he had a meaning in life. He felt that he really could still go on now, for Sonic still loved him, even now.

Still loved him…

A warm glow formed around the both of them, and Sonic's feet began to disappear into golden dust. Like a ghost, his whole body quickly dematerialized in Miles's arms, breaking the kiss, and floated up into the air.

"_Promise me you'll live on, my love…_" Sonic's calm voice echoed from every direction as the whole field was engulfed in eternal white light. "_Promise me…_"

As evanescent tears flowed down his face, Miles flashed a very genuine and happy smile before the whole world disappeared into whiteness around him.

----------

----------

----------

----------

_And Sonic's hill of green bloomed with life forever…_

----------

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----------

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"Tails, are you okay?"

Miles opened his eyes when he heard the familiar female voice from not too far away, this time actually sounding kind and worried rather than angry like before. Looking down, he stared at a very puzzled Amy. Other than a few scrapes on her arms and knees, along with a rip or two in her white and red dress, her small 11-year-old body held no signs of damage inflicted upon her. Only a little mental pain, that's all. The look in her emerald green eyes, almost similar to Sonic's, was that of a thin innocent sorrow.

"What happened to you? I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier, but I—

"Amy…" Tails—no longer the hollow shell known as Miles anymore—interrupted the young girl.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow in wonder.

He knew what he had to do. Leaning down to her eye level, he spoke peacefully. "I talked to him again…the pain is over now…he has one last request…"

"Sonic…?"

"Yes." Nodding, the two-tailed fox finally asked: "Amy…would you like to be my daughter?"

Amy paused and began to contemplate what he was actually saying. "If Sonic says so…" She flashed him an innocent, benign smile. It was a smile that had so dazzled the young fox. "Yes. Yes I would."

"Come on, let's get out of this place." Tails rose back to his feet and reached his hand out to her, feeling a bit worried she might deny it like she had before. To his relief, her small gloved hand laced around his, and she flashed him another smile.

Sonic's real letter—as opposed to the fake one Tails had gotten that had spurred him to enter Sonic Hill in the first place—was in his free hand as his long walk back to the outskirts began. Amy beside him, he thoughtfully read the real thoughts and feelings Sonic had experienced shortly before his death a few months ago…

------

'**_Dear Tails,_**

**_In my restless dreams…_**

**_I see that town…_**

**_Sonic Hill…_**

**_You promised me you'd take me there again someday…_**

**_But you never did…_**

**_Well, I'm alone there now…_**

**_In our "special place"…_**

**_Waiting for you…_**

**_Waiting for you to come to see me…but you never do_**

**_And so I wait, wrapped in my cocoon of pain and loneliness_**

**_I know I've done a terrible thing to you, something that you'll never forgive me for_**

**_I wish I could change that, but I can't_**

**_I feel so pathetic and ugly laying here, waiting for you…_**

**_Every day I stare up at the cracks in the ceiling, and all I can think about is how unfair it all is_**

**_The doctor came today. He told me I can go home for a short stay_**

**_It's not that I'm getting better, it's just that this may be my last chance_**

**_I think you know what I mean…_**

**_Even so, I'm glad to be coming home. I've missed you terribly…_**

**_But…I'm afraid, Tails…_**

**_Afraid you don't really want me to come home…_**

**_Whenever you come to see me, I can tell how hard it is on you_**

**_I don't know if you hate me or pity me. Or maybe I just disgust you. I'm sorry about that…_**

**_When I first learned that I was going to die, I just didn't want to accept it_**

**_I was so angry all the time, and I struck out at everyone I loved most…especially you, Tails_**

**_That's why I understand if you do hate me…_**

**_But I want you to know this, Tails…_**

**_I'll always love you._**

**_Even though our life together had to end like this, I still wouldn't trade it for the world. We had some wonderful years together…_**

**_Well, this letter has gone on too long, so…I guess I'll say goodbye. I told the nurse to give this to you after I'm gone._**

**_Which means that as you read this, I'm already dead._**

**_I can't tell you to remember me, but I can't bear the thought of you forgetting me._**

**_These last few years since I became ill…I'm so sorry for what I've done to you, done to us…_**

**_You've given me so much, and I haven't been able to return a single thing…_**

**_Ever since the beginning, you've accepted and done everything you could for me. Words cannot express how thankful I am for that…_**

**_That's why I want you to live for yourself now_**

**_Do what's best for you, my love._**

**_Tails…_**

**_You've made me happy._**

**_Love, Sonikku_**'

-------

Tombstones were lined up in not-so-perfectly-symmetrical rows, though it was hard to see most of them from far away through the thin layer of fog. The cemetery just outside of town had not lost its usual gloomy feel, but the amount of fog—both the physical fog around him and mental fog within Tails's mind—had decreased by a very noticeable amount. As he walked through the graveyard—passing by the same spot he'd met Rouge the Bat in for the first time when he entered the town—Amy ran playfully about twenty feet ahead. Young and eager, he could tell she was grateful to finally have a new home, and a foster father of her own.

It was only a somewhat short walk through the forest path back to his car in the restrooms, which he'd finally take home and start a new life with Amy. He now had a meaning in life, and that was to live happily and keep his promise to Sonic, forever. That wasn't a bad deal, not a bad deal at all.

"Hey, come on Tails! Let's go home already!" Amy shouted, a childish grin on her cheerful face as she pulled the rusty old black gate open and ran into the forest area ahead.

Tails stopped when he reached the gate and grasped the handle tightly. Turning, he took one last look at the horrible town of Sonic Hill, where his worst nightmares and most wonderful dreams had taken place. Where the sinners got what they deserved, where so much pain and death had taken place, and where it would most likely continue to until the end of everything for the outside world.

But he didn't need to worry about that anymore; he could now live happily ever after, or at least as much as a mortal in this world could. He felt truly thankful, truly joyous for that. Smiling once again, he felt tears of joy yet loss begin to form in his azure-blue eyes.

"_Thank you, Sonikku…_"


	35. Ending V: Alien

**Sonic Hill 2: DX **

**Ending V: Alien**

------

Dust shot up through the cracks in the wooden boards, which barely supported Miles's weight. He was extremely weary, but the end was in sight. Before him, the two steel double doors stood erect, their rusty handles beckoning for him to turn them. They moved easily enough, opening wide into the surprisingly bright area outside.

The chill that ran through his damp fur was stunning, but he managed to shake it off and keep moving. Standing still would only make things worse anyway. The metallic catwalk he stood on led about ten yards forward before it mutated into a long, steep, strangely crafted staircase. About a minute of ascending later, the stairs would switch direction and go downwards, only to head back up soon afterwards. It confused and boggled him, but his mind accepted it much easier than it would any normal, sane male of his stature. In Sonic Hill, things like that didn't have to make sense, so it was no use for him to bother trying to understand it. At least, that's what he wanted to believe at this point.

Too bad for him the place the stairs led to had been much different than he expected. The concrete platform had a chain-link fence around its perimeter, and held within it the rather peaceful looking ruins of a building. But it wasn't its strange features which surprised him.

It was the fact that it was empty.

As the foggy gate opened, Miles stepped in with a feeling of horrified confusion. There were no doors, no signs of an exit, and no life or death within the arena's confines. Deadly, chagrin silence swam around him.

"But…I thought…"

He stared down at the floor and felt that tingling sensation of tears growing within his skull. There was nowhere else to go…

-_Vrrrrrrmmmm…_

His ears perked up in surprise—which held hands with a small bit of hope—when a strange foreign noise emitted from somewhere. It took him a while to realize where it was coming from, but eventually he looked up into the sky.

'_Oh my god…_'

His jaw dropped to the floor cartoonishly as he saw it: A giant, disk-shaped metallic object hovered about twenty feet above and in front of him. Multicolored lights that seemed to blink for no real reason surrounded the perimeter of the object, only adding to the confusion he felt staring upon it. It was just like in the old movie's he'd seen: a big surreal-looking disc-shaped UFO. A strange, white-ish light was shining on the front of the ship as it moved backwards a bit until it reached the far wall.

"What the—" Miles wasn't even able to finish his sentence as a laser beam shot out from the space ship and hit the chain-link fencing, obliterating it and sending chunks of metal flying at him along with an insanely loud noise. "—_FUUUUUCK!!_"

Shielding his face, Miles managed to avoid the chunks of brick and fencing flying towards him, allowing him to stare, astonished, at what followed. The ship landed on the now empty space where the edge of the platform had been. Another metallic noise, and a huge chunk of the front of the ship slowly opened up, forming a slope for its carriers to walk on. From within the spacecraft, he only saw bright white light, until the shadow of a figure came into view.

"_…Sonic!?_" Miles couldn't believe his eyes.

There on the platform, his blue angel stood, looking like a complete mess. Cuts and scrapes—all of which were scabbed and beginning to heal over—along with a fair share of bruises and even a little blood covered his body. The spots of skin on his chest and belly was just as scratched up and worn as his fur was, and there were even a handful of bandages covering him to top if off. If he didn't know any better, Miles could have sworn the hedgehog had fought for his life just as much as he had.

Of course, that didn't stop him from running joyfully towards the hedgehog. The confusion was placed behind the wall of excitement for the time being, and for a few short seconds, everything was okay.

"I've been looking for you!" Miles cried ecstatically. "I missed you so much!"

"Tails?" Sonic raised an eyebrow, seemingly just as surprised but not quite as happy to see his love as Miles was. He moved forward for a second, but then abruptly stopped and placed his hand on his ear, a look of concentration drawn on his face. "Oh…"

The disappointment Sonic expressed surprised Miles even more, and he finally stopped for a moment, allowing the misunderstanding of the situation to catch up to him. Sonic frowned, sighed, and looked at something to his side Miles couldn't see.

"I was afraid of that…" Sonic whispered. "I guess this town has more screwed up dimensions than I thought."

Two strange looking tall green creatures slid into view, adding more to Miles's bafflement. They wore thick reddish pink suits, which didn't quite match well with their obscenely large light green heads. Their eyes were an interesting dark red, and showed no signs of any sort of pupils or life on them at all. On their backs were strange looking gray packs that he couldn't see very well. And in their hands were ray guns, which did match with their heads, when it comes to the humorous largeness of them. Sonic didn't seem to be bothered at all by their presence as they stood on both sides of him, gazing upon the weary fox.

"W-what's going on…?" Miles whispered as he took a step backwards, suddenly fearing his life.

"Sorry, there's been a misunderstanding." Sonic stated that frown still on his lips. "We're a bit lost. Have you seen a little girl? Red dress, light brown eyes, floppy ears?"

"A little girl?" Miles echoed questionably.

"Yeah. She's my daughter. I've been looking for her."

"Daughter!?"

"Yeah." the blue hedgehog nodded patiently, seeming to acknowledge how confused the poor furry was. "Have you seen her?"

Shaking his head, the two-tailed kitsune replied. "No…I did see a pink hedgehog though…you're not really Sonic, are you?"

"Oh, yeah, that's me." Sonic laughed nervously and scratched the spikes on the back of his head. "But I'm probably not who you're looking for. Strange coincidence, eh?"

Sadly, Miles looked down at the floor. "Yeah…"

The aliens on both sides of the young hedgehog spoke in an unknown high-pitched language, looking up at the supposed Sonic while doing so. After the one on his right finished talking, he too began to speak in the same tone and dialect as them, though he showed a small bit of strain like he was trying to think of how to word it correctly along the way.

Miles just gawked at them, not believing what he was actually seeing. Out of all the things he'd expected to find here, someone who looks just like his deceased boyfriend communicating with space aliens wasn't one of them. Wasn't even anywhere close to one of them, but it really was happening. The insanity Sonic Hill contained seemed to have tripled to unbelievable proportions.

"So you haven't see her?" Sonic asked again after his conversation with the aliens ceased. He seemed almost distressed when asking it.

"No, I haven't…" the twin-tailed fox shook his head sadly a second time.

Sighing distantly, Sonic continued. "Sorry man, but they won't take no for an answer."

Miles raised an eyebrow. "Wha?"

To his extreme horror, both aliens raised their rayguns and pointed it directly at him, making it pretty apparent at what they intended to do. He tried to jump out of the way, but it was far too late – the creatures opened fire and a big orange wave of agony encompassed itself around him. His muscles and his eyesight went haywire, not knowing in the least bit how to react to the sudden jolt. He fell, spazming slightly on the way down. Head laid out on the floor, he could see little more than a dizzy sideways view of the spaceship, and the moving feet of the three carriers inside it. Sonic's red and white-stripped shoes casually stopped a few inches away from his face. He tried desperately to move, but his efforts were futile – Sonic and the two aliens grabbed onto his arm and began to drag him up the slope into the UFO.

What seemed almost like hours later, he was finally inside the ship, and they laid him out on a big bright table. His vision was still screwed up, but he could partially grasp what the interior looked like. Whiteness filled the place, aside from a large big screen TV broadcasting a news program about something he couldn't hear from where he lay. Now even if he weren't paralyzed anymore, he wouldn't be able to escape, for the metal bars on the side of the table clunked together over his twists and ankles, holding him in place. Beside him, Sonic had a friendly but genuinely guilty smile on his lips.

"Don't worry Mr. Fox." The blue hedgehog said cracked a half smile Miles had known Sonic so well for. "The food sucks, but you'll get used to it."

Miles opened his mouth wide to scream, but no sound came out. The metal door of the ship slammed shut as it lifted back into the air with its new prisoner. And before he knew it, it had already blasted off at light-speed into outer space…

-----

-----

_Lose my head to the chemical freeway_

_Coming up on overload_

_In a mystic new dimension, purify and sanctify me_

_What, so I'm in no endgame_

_Move my piece right off the board_

_Losing sure is easy, so I am no more_

_But I'm not broken_

_In my dream, I win_

_But here, I'm nothing_

_A cosmic castaway_

_In my head I'm a chemical dreamer_

_Speed up to burnout mode_

_Coming up in the fifth dimension_

_Beautify, don't crucify me_

_Yeah, so I need no mind game poisoning my lonely soul_

_Losing sure is easy, so I am no more_

_But I'm not broken_

_In my dream, I win_

_And I take over, because I'm no loser_

_And I'm in and you're not_

_Bad dreams don't stop_

_And I'm all screwed up_

_A cosmic castaway, yeah_

_A cosmic castaway, yeah_

_The cosmic castaway…_

_And I want, but have not…_

_Bad dreams, lust thoughts…_

_In here with no pain…_

_You hurt me again…_

_And I want, but have none…_

_I should beat the alien…_

_But here, I'm no one…_

_A cosmic castaway, yeah!_

_A cosmic castaway, yeah!_

_A cosmic castaway, yeah!_

_A cosmic castaway!!_

**_"Cosmic Castaway" - Electrasy_**


	36. Ending VI: Chao

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Ending VI: Chao

------

Miles stopped for a moment to catch his breath when he reached the door. He was hoping the answers would come soon, and was almost sure of it. The lengthy corridor should have been far over the lake by now, but it was Sonic Hill, so that did not matter. What did matter was what lies ahead – and since the heavy steel double doors in front of him looked just too forbidding and unsettling to pass by, he decided to open them. What lie on the other side, he hoped, would be the answers.

And he sure got them.

His jaw dropped in utter shock as his mind took in the room beyond the double doors. It was large and circular, supporting a whole crapload of computer monitors and control panels that lined the walls. Joining those were hundreds of tiny lights, which constantly blinked on and off for no apparent reason, along with a very large assortment of colors he hadn't seen ever before in the town. All together, they gave the place a very cartoony feel.

On the opposite end of the room, a small blue robotic-looking creature stood on a stepstool, pulling a bunch of levers and staring at the monitors surrounding it. From what he could see from where he stood, Miles could make out the figure of himself and Shadow standing in the town's foggy streets in one of the monitors. To that, his eyes widened in horror, a horror that grew as he noticed the other things the strange room had to offer. About ten meters to the right there was a couch where a bunch of similar blue creatures—these ones looking much more organic and fluid-like—sat, playing on a Sega Dreamcast on a big screen television. His and Shadow's figure were also on that TV, him in the lead with the hedgehog following behind as they ran through the hospital area.

Staring down at the floor, Miles felt a single teardrop slide through his dirty fur. He opened his mouth to say something, but was surprised to hear his own considerably higher voice speak in a foreign tongue—what sounded like a very rough Japanese. He managed to stop himself, clear his throat, and speak again with his normal voice, in English this time. "So…it was you all along…"

The small creatures were finally alerted of his presence and whirred around, their jaws dropping too as they saw him. He recognized what they were – Chao, like the ones he'd seen in Station Square and other places. Cute little blue creatures they were, as he had remembered. He and Sonic had played at one of the Chao Gardens once years ago…

"Ack!" one of them cried distressfully. "W-what's _he_ doing here!?" They all began to speak at once after that.

"—Ah crap!—"

"—I told you this would happen!—"

"—He's a lot shorter than I expected…—"

"—_WE'RE GONNA DIIIE!!_—"

"—We're in trouble now!—"

"—I shoulda figured…—"

Miles tore his eyes away from them and looked at the Chao standing on the stepstool ahead. Its head turned all the way around to stare at him creepily with its lifeless swirly eyes. "Hi! I'm Omochao! I'm here to help you!"

For a moment, Miles seriously considered and even had a hard time restraining himself from putting the handgun to his head and blowing his own brains out at just hearing that, but he managed to regain his senses and decide not to. "I'm sorry I bothered you…I thought…I thought maybe…"

"We're sorry." One of the Chao frowned sadly as she—or maybe it was a he? He couldn't tell, they didn't seem to have sexes anyway—hopped off of the couch and got in an innocent angelic pose. "But how the _fuck_ did you get in here!?"

An unrealistically large sweatdrop formed beside the blue-eyed fox's head. "I could ask the same."

Another Chao out of sight decided to answer that one. "We always hang out here and play video games and stuff!"

"Video games?"

Another: "Yeah! We're playing Sonic Hill 2: XD right now. Wanna join!?"

"It's DX you idiot!" A chao in the distance shouted.

"Erm…no thanks…" Miles reached for the handle behind him, but before he could the Chao on the stepstool smashed his cute squishy little fist onto a button and a click was heard. The fox could barely hold in a scream when the handle wouldn't budge. "Hey! Why won't you let me leave?" he asked in a more annoyed than afraid voice.

"Sorry." Omochao said, an insane grin on his face. "But we can't let you go and tell people about us. That would be Bad! To be Good, hold down the A button and tap—"

"—_So I'm stuck here forever!?_"

"Yup." The little chao nearest him said with a smile.

"Shi—err, crap…" Miles whispered, on the verge of another repetitive angst-trip. Before he could begin, one of the creatures shouted out and broke his train of thought.

"Hey!" the chao on top of the couch exclaimed, holding up a large CD case. "I got Soul Calibur! Wanna play!?"

"YAH!" all the chao exclaimed.

"In order to start the system, press the START button!"

In unison, the Chao looked at Miles, just telling him with the look in their eyes what they intended to ask. And the devastated fox actually considered it. He really liked that game, though he hadn't played it in a long time. He really kicked major ass as Ivy…

"Eh…okay." Shrugging, he walked across the room and sat down on the couch, grabbing one of the cloud-colored controllers and glancing at the many little beings around him. They all smiled innocently back at him. If he was going to be stuck in a room for the rest of his life, perhaps this was one of the best scenarios there could be. With a somewhat content sigh, he stared at the screen.

Smiling warmly, he began to play.

------

****

There's a monster that lives beneath your bed

Oh, for crying out loud…

It's a futon on the floor, he must be flat as a board

There's a creature that lurks behind the door

Though I've checked there fifteen times, when I leave then he arrives every night

Tell the monster that lives beneath your bed

To go somewhere else instead, or you'll kick him in the head

Tell the creature that lurks behind the door

That if he knows what's good, he wont come here no more

Cuz you're kickin' his butt at the count of four!

Goodnight, demon slayer, goodnight

Now it's time to close your tired eyes

There's devils to slay, and dragons to ride

If they see you comin', hell, they'd better hide!

Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight…

Goodnight, my lil' slayer, goodnight

Tell the monster that eats children that you taste bad

And you're sure you'll be the worst he's ever had!

If he eats you, don't you fret, just cut him open (with an ax!)

Don't regret it, he deserved it, he's a cad

Tell the harpies that land on your bedpost

That at the count of five, you'll roast 'em alive!

Tell the devil that it's time to meet his doom

He should go back to Hell, he should shake in his shoes,

Cuzthe mightiest scariest creature is you!

Goodnight, demon slayer, goodnight

Now it's time to close your tired eyes

There's devils to slay, and dragons to ride

If they see you comin', hell, they'd better hide!

Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight…

Goodnight, my lil' slayer, goodnight!

-inst.-

I won't tell you there's nothin' beneath your bed

I won't sell you that it's all in your head

This world of ours is not as it seems

The monsters are real, but not in your dreams

Learn what you can from the beasts you defeat

You'll need it for some of the people you'll meet!

Goodnight, demon slayer, goodnight

Now it's time to close your tired eyes

There's devils to slay, and dragons to ride

If they see you comin', hell, they'd better hide!

Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight…

Goodnight, my lil' slayer, goodnight!

Goodnight…

"Goodnight, Demon Slayer" - Voltaire


	37. Pianissimo Epilogue

Sonic Hill 2: DX

Pianissimo Epilogue

------

As long as he lived, he'd always miss this place.

Even as he stood, atop the withered abandoned observation deck of the Rosewater Park, the memories—both great and tragic—of his experiences in Sonic Hill remained with him. They'd always be with him, as long as he lived, and even in death. His hopes and wishes may not have come true, or perhaps they have, he was in too distant a state of mind to really think about it clearly. He wasn't even sure how he'd gotten here now—maybe it was a dream, maybe it was all too real. Both his recent past and near future seemed not to matter. All that mattered was that he had some time to himself, to really look deeply upon what had happened over the course of the past few years.

This time, in his little emotional bubble, was also uncertain. Sonic's warm, benign smile was one of the few things he felt he had left, though even that was no longer fully there. It only remained, entrapped within the crumpled and moist photograph he'd carried along in his pocket. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but Miles felt Sonic's was worth well over a hundred million.

"Sonikku…"

Considering the scars and injuries coating his body, he was still a bit stunned at how much his own ragged whisper made his heart pulse with shock. It was just like when he stared into his reflection a long time ago – he felt strange just imagining that all this had really happened to the fox he'd once been. Sure, he wasn't quite as happy go-lucky as Sonic had been before the disease, but he was still close enough to seem like a whole new being now. It was amazing what could happen over time. The town alone was proof of that, if not himself.

"People die here all the time, you know."

"Yeah…"

He knew who it was, but he couldn't help but glance anyway. Shadow's divine figure stood, partially shrouded in the fog, not too far to the right. Even more so than the weary kitsune, he was leaning casually on the rusty guard railing, staring down at the peaceful waves in deep thought. Saying it was a surprise to him was an overstatement.

"But I think you're a special case." The black hedgehog said, a friendly crack of a smile forming on the side of his lips. "I can feel it."

"Heh…" Miles tried not to laugh at that. It wasn't really that funny, but he really did need to laugh. He hadn't in a long time. Right now though, he did have more concerns than that. There was really only one more question he had left before his understanding of his adventure was complete. "What really did happen in this town, anyway? That's the only thing I still don't get…"

It took a while for the other male to reply, for he seemed almost lost in thought too. Placing his chin in his clean white-gloved palm, he let out a soft sigh. "Not even I know that one…whatever it was though, it must have been big. Their powers are way off balance now, which is probably why this place is still here."

A single, barely noticeable chuckle was the fox's reply. He couldn't help it this time. Not even Shadow had a full answer, but at least it was something. Probably the best he'd ever get. He attempted to not lose himself in thought again—staring off into the gray fog surrounding the duo, giving both of them a ghostly and abstract appearance—but it wasn't easy. That is, until the hedgehog broke his concentration—not so much to his disappointment—and said something that warmed his lonely heart.

"I really did love you, you know." The sincerity Miles heard in the hedgehog's dark baritone voice shined true, and that comforted him. It really did seem to come from the heart. "No god can change that, not even Chaos."

What followed was a collective, compassionate silence between the two, neither one of them knowing what exactly to say next. There really wasn't anything _left_ to say.

The surreal waters of Lake Toluca were eternal. Somehow, Miles felt that they'd last forever, or at least as long as the town did. At this rate, its own end didn't seem to be anytime soon, and perhaps things were the best that way. Besides, the thoughts of his life before he came here were too dark and distant for him to even want to remember, though his current situation wasn't much better. At least here though, he felt there was an end in sight. Maybe not a good end for him, maybe not a bad one, but at least there was something. Thinking about that gave him a faint, barely visible flicker of hope.

"Shadow…"

"Yeah, Miles?"

Miles "Tails" Prower slowly turned his head and stared back into the crimson red orbs on the hedgehog's face, cracking a bit of a smile before finally speaking again. "Thank you Shadow."

Relieved far past belief to hear it, Shadow smiled back.

That comforted him even more. Knowing what he knew now, he felt a strange sense of peace. Sonic Hill was an amazing place, its power beyond unnatural. And though his wishes may or may not have come true, he felt fortunate just to have a chance of a future, unlike many who suffered there for their sins. That peaceful feeling was faint, but it was enough for him. Just enough.

With that in mind, Miles could finally rest easy as the fog of Sonic Hill swallowed him up once again.

------

------

"You hold the answers deep within your own mind.

Consciously, you've forgotten it. That's how the human mind works.

Whenever something is too unpleasant, too shameful for us to entertain, we reject it.

We erase it from our memory, but the imprint is always there…"

The pain that grips you

The fear that binds you

Releases life in me

In our mutual shame, we hide our eyes

To blind them from the truth that finds a way from who we are

Please don't be afraid

When the darkness fades away

The dawn will break the silence screaming in our hearts

My love for you still grows

This I do believe

Before I try to fight the truth my final time…

"We're supposed to try and be real…but I'm still alone, we're not together, and that is real."

Can't wash it all away

Can't wish it all away

Can't cry it all away

Can't scratch it all away

Lying beside you, listening to you breathe

The light that flows inside of you burns inside of me

Hold and speak to me of love without a sound

Tell me you will live through this, and I will die for you

Cast me not away

Say you'll be with me

For I know I cannot bear it all alone…

"You're not alone, are you? Never…never…"

Can't fight it all away

Can't hope it all away

Can't scream it all away

It just won't fade away…

-inst.-

Ooh, can't wash it all away

Can't wish it all away

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Can't cry it all away

Can't scratch it all away!

Can't cry it all away…

Can't hope it all away…

Can't scream it all away…

Ooh, it all away!

Ooh, it all away!

"But the imprint is always there, nothing is ever really forgotten…"

"Please don't hate me…"

"Because I'll die if you do…"

"Because I'll die if you do…"

"Because I'll die if you do…"

"Because I'll die if you do…"

"…Because I'll die if you do…"

"Understanding" – Evanescence

----

----

**A/N: **_I'd like to thank everyone for their support on this project! This version of the fic turned out a billion times better than the original, and I do believe that it's by far my best serious long fic (okay, it's my _only _serious long fic at the moment…haha). Was a major writing milestone for meh, and alsothe most consecutively I've written and posted at once, ever. It's come along way, and I've had a ton of fun writing this. I hope you have enjoyed it too! Thanks for reading! _

Now time for the really hammed up and cheesy—

**Credits:**

-insert cool music here-

_Cast of Characters:_

_Miles "Tails" Prower _– _James Sunderland_

_Sonic Hedgehog-Prower– __Mary Shepherd-Sunderland_

_Shadow – Maria_

_Rouge Bat – Angela Orosco_

_Eggman Robotnik – Eddie Donbrowski_

_Amy – Laura_

_Pyramid Head – Pyramid Head_

_Chaos – Samael/God/Devil_

_Musicness:_

_Ending I: "The Promise"_

_Music & Lyrics by: The Cure (from The Cure - Geffen Records)_

_Ending II: "Even In Death"_

_Music & Lyrics by: Evanescence (from Origin _– _BigWig Enterprises) _

Ending III: "Comalies"

Music & Lyrics by: Lacuna Coil (from Comalies – Century Media Records)

Ending IV: Inspired by the song "Promise"

Music by: Akira Yamaoka (from the Silent Hill 2 Original Soundtrack)

Ending V: "Cosmic Castaway"

Music & Lyrics by: Electracy (no idea, but the Titan A.E. soundtrack, I think)

Ending VI: "Goodnight, Demon Slayer"

Music & Lyrics by: Voltaire (from Projekt: The New Face of Goth – Projekt Records)

Ending VII: "Understanding"

Music & Lyrics by: Evanescence (from Evanescence EP – _BigWig Enterprises)_

**Special Thanks To:**

Ztarlight: (For being an uber awesome girlfriend, givin' meh tons of support, and proofreading the story for me.)

Tybo341: (For being my uber awesome best friend, and giving me tons of support and sorta proofreading as I was writing this)

RogueKyne: (For many ideas and references to the Silent Hill series here and there)

Luigi the Echidna: (For helping me plot the idea for the "Chao" ending)

The Allies: (For deleting the old, crappy version of this fic, and giving me a reason to rewrite it. Fuck you, and thank you. )

Evanescence, The Cure, A Perfect Circle, And A Buncha Other Cool Bands: (cuz I said so)

Sonic Team: (Well…this one's obvious. For giving me characters to use and abuse. :P)

Konami: (For making the awesome game, Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams, for Playstation 2 and X-Box, and giving me something to mooch off of, use, and add my own crap onto – AKA this fic)

You Guys, the Readers and Reviewers!: (For reading this far, being (hopefully) supportive, and, well, reviewing)

----

-shows an old, faded photograph of Sonic and Tails Hedgehog-Prower when they were happy, before the darkness and the disease destroyed their lives. they are holding hands together lovingly in front of a large, resplendent, lakeside background…-

Fin.


End file.
